Cheese Production Up in November
Published: Friday, January 20, 2023
The following is from Lee Mielke, author of a dairy market column known as "Mielke Market Weekly."
You'll recall November milk production was up 1.3% from 2021. The latest Dairy Products report indicates that extra milk primarily went to the vat and the churn.
Cheese production totaled 1.149 billion pounds, down 1.9% from October output which was revised up 4 million pounds, but was up 1.6% from November 2021. Output year-to-date (YTD) hit 12.7 billion pounds, up 1.7% from a year ago.
Wisconsin produced 284.1 million pounds of that total, down .7% from October, but 1% above a year ago. California produced 208.7 million pounds, up 1.1% from October and 2.4% more than a year ago. New Mexico output slipped to 80.7 million pounds, down 3.3% from October but 2.4% more than a year ago. Idaho output dropped to 74.3 million pounds, down 12.7% from October, and 3.8% below a year ago.
Italian cheese output fell to 484.9 million pounds, down 2.4% from October but 1.1% above a year ago. YTD Italian stands at 5.4 billion pounds, up 2.7%.
American-type cheese slipped to 459.7 million pounds, down 2.1% from October but 2.2% above a year ago. YTD output, at 5.1 billion pounds is down .2%.
Mozzarella output, at 380.9 million pounds, was up 1.5% from a year ago, with YTD at 5.1 billion pounds, down .2%.
The Jan. 6 Daily Dairy Report said, "Cheesemakers consistently made big volumes of Mozzarella in 2022, a sign that Americans' appetite for pizza and other foods replete with Italian-style cheeses continued to grow."
Cheddar production fell to 319 million pounds, down 17.1 million pounds, or 5.1%, from October's count, but was up 5.5 million pounds, or 1.7%, from November 2021. YTD Cheddar is at 3.6 billion pounds, down 1.1% from a year ago.
Butter output climbed to 169.9 million pounds, up 8.1 million pounds, or 5%, from October, and up 13.9 million pounds, or 8.9%, from a year ago. YTD butter output however stands at 1.9 billion pounds, down 1.2% from a year ago.
Yogurt totaled 346.8 million pounds, down 2.4% from a year ago, with YTD output at 4.3 billion pounds, down 2.7%.
Less cheese meant less whey. Output slipped to 74.6 million pounds, down 2.7 million pounds, or 3.5%, from October, and 1.3 million, or 1.7%, below a year ago. YTD whey is at 875.1 million pounds, up 2%. Stocks climbed to 72.9 million pounds, up 4.5 million pounds, or 6.5%, from October, and 13.2 million pounds, or 22.1%, above those a year ago.
Nonfat dry milk jumped to 159.5 million pounds, up 35.5 million pounds, or 28.6%, from October, but was 1.5 million pounds, or .9%, below a year ago. YTD powder was at 1.8 billion pounds, down 3.2%. Stocks grew to 256 million pounds, up 8.2 million, or 3.3%, from October, and 29.2 million, or 12.9%, above a year ago.
Skim milk powder output fell to 39.4 million pounds, down 16.8 million pounds, or 29.9%, from October, and down 20.2 million, or 33.9%, from a year ago. YTD SMP was at 486.3 million pounds, down 25.1% from 2021. HighGround Dairy called the report neutral on cheese and nonfat but bearish on butter and dry whey.
Return to Top of Page