Wisconsin cheese plants made more product during December when compared to the same month a year earlier--making it the first time in the past five months that year-to-year output rose. According to the latest dairy product summary from the USDA, the state produced 279.2 million pounds of cheese in December. That was 1.2 percent more than last year, and a slight 0.9 percent increase from this past November (which had one less day on the calendar).
Nationally, about 1.13 billion pounds of cheese was produced in the United States in December. That was a fractional 0.5 percent hike from 2019, and 2.6 percent higher than the amount manufactured during the previous month.
Wisconsin's production of American cheese increased as the state produced 91.4 million pounds, about 3.8 percent more than last year, and 3.6 percent above last month's production. Cheddar output also rose 2.8 percent compared to 2019 to total 63.8 million pounds, and went up 3.3 percent from the month earlier. Italian cheese production was at 138.1 million pounds, about 0.5 percent more than last year, and 5.3 percent higher for the month. And Mozzarella produced in Wisconsin totaled 85 million pounds--about 4.3 percent less than December 2019, and 0.5 percent below November 2020.
Dry Whey output in Wisconsin was recorded at 27.7 million pounds, which was up 4.2 percent from last year, and a whopping 29.5 percent increase compared to last month.
Categories: Wisconsin, Livestock, Dairy Cattle