The USDA is being viewed as friendly to one part of the dairy market, zeroing in on cheese. Inventories increased from April, but all the categories were down from a year ago. Market analyst Robin Schmahl says that’s unusual for this time of year.
“Generally they increase,” he says. “American cheese increased 10.6 million lbs., Swiss cheese was up 2 million lbs., the other cheese category was up 9.4 million lbs. and total cheese was up 21.9 million lbs. So that aspect of the cold storage report was friendly to the market.”
On the butter side, Schmahl says the report was neutral but says butter inventory has increased 14% above a year ago. He predicts prices to stay in the sideways trading pattern which they have been in since the beginning of the year.
Cottage Cheese
Cottage cheese is making a comeback thanks to ‘Gen Z’ and millennials sharing recipes on social media platforms such as TikTok. It is being featured in everything from ice cream to pasta sauce to pancakes. One market research firm says there’s been an almost 16% increase in cottage cheese sales recently in the U.S.
