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Skim milk powder down from last year as part of COVID recovery

The USDA says March dairy product numbers have swung from dry products into cheese, likely coinciding with increasing foodservice demand.

Total cheese production totaled more than 1.1 billion pounds, nearly 13 percent on the month and five percent from the prior year. Italian cheese production was up 13.5 percent on the month and nearly four percent on the year while American cheese was up more than seven percent on year and 12 percent for the month.

Butter production totaled 199 million pounds, down fractionally from the prior year but up nearly seven percent from last month.

Nonfat dry milk was up 14 percent from 2020 and skim milk powder was down more than 30 percent.  Dry whey production was up almost one percent while lactose was up nearly seven percent from the previous year.