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Cheese in cold storage above a year ago, butter falls

Slower demand for some types of cheese pushed the U.S. supply to record end of May levels.

The USDA says natural cheese stocks at the end of last month were 1.512 billion pounds, up 4% on the year, even as cheese production for the month was mostly below a year ago. That included the largest monthly supply on record for non-American types of cheese, primarily Italian-style, cream, Hispanic, and brick cheeses. American and Swiss cheese in cold storage were also above a year ago, but not record large.

Butter stocks were reported at 321.58 million pounds, a drop of 22% from last year, thanks to comparatively better demand.