Proposed WIC Program Revisions Include Lower Amount Of Dairy In All Food Packages

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US Dairy Exports Increased 14% In November; Dairy Imports Rose 1%

26.4 million pounds up 1 percent; China, 19.7 million pounds, down 24 percent; Chile, 18.1 million pounds, up 7 percent; Taiwan, 14.5 million pounds, down 10 percent; Saudi Arabia, 14.3 million pounds, down 28 percent; Dominican Republic, 12.8 million pounds, up 31 percent; Guatemala, 11.2 mil-lion pounds, up 29 percent; and Panama, 10.3 million pounds, up 3 percent.

Nonfat dry milk exports dur-ing November totaled 120.1 mil-lion pounds, up 28 percent from November 2015. Nonfat dry milk exports during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 1.147 billion pounds, up 2 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

November dried whey exports totaled 38.5 million pounds, up 52 percent from November 2015. January-November 2016 exports of dried whey totaled 381.2 mil-lion pounds, up 4 percent from the same period in 2015.

Whey protein concentrate exports during November totaled 28.2 million pounds, up 49 percent from November 2015. During the

• See Dairy Exports Up, p. 16

Vol. 141, No. 29 • Friday, January 6, 2017 • Madison, Wisconsin

Emmi Acquires Another US Goat Milk Business: Jackson-Mitchell, Inc., Producer Of Meyenberg Goat Milk ProductsLucerne, Switzerland—The Emmi Group on Thursday announced that it is acquiring the Meyenberg goat milk products producer Jack-son-Mitchell, Inc., from the owner Jackson and Mitchell families.

Based in Turlock, CA, Jackson-Mitchell has 30 employees work-ing at two production sites, one in Turlock and the other in Yell-ville, AR. The company generates annual sales of almost $30 million.

Meyenberg was founded by John P. Meyenberg. Ownership of the company passed to the Jackson family and Jonathan Mitchell in 1934 and it was renamed Jackson-Mitchell, Inc.

• See Emmi Acquires, p. 9

$1.25

$1.50

$1.75

$2.00

$2.25

Yearly Avg Prices – 2015 vs 2016Average CME Prices** Class III & 4b Milk Price x 10

US Cheese Production Rose 2.7% In November; Cheddar Output Jumped 5.9%; Butter Output Fell 5.7%, Yogurt Down 6.1%Washington—US cheese produc-tion during November totaled 1.011 billion pounds, up 2.7 percent from November 2015, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported.

Cheese output during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 11.014 billion pounds, up 2 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

Regional cheese production dur-ing November, with comparisons to November 2015, was: Central, 455.5 million pounds, up 3.3 per-cent; West, 426.3 million pounds, up 1.8 percent; and Atlantic, 129.1 million pounds, up 3.4 percent.

November cheese production in the states broken out by NASS, with comparisons to November 2015, was: Wisconsin, 265.5 mil-lion pounds, up 3.8 percent; Cali-fornia, 209.4 million pounds, up 4.8 percent; Idaho, 74.3 million pounds, down 2.8 percent; New York, 69.8 million pounds, up 0.1 percent; New Mexico, 65.5 million pounds, up 0.6 percent; Minnesota, 53.8 million pounds, down 3.6 per-cent; Pennsylvania, 35.1 million pounds, up 10.7 percent; South Dakota, 24.6 million pounds, up 5.5 percent; Iowa, 21.6 million pounds, up 7 percent; Ohio, 18.1 million pounds, up 4.9 percent; Vermont, 12.2 million pounds, up 4.5 percent; Illinois, 7 million pounds, up 7.6 percent; and New Jersey, 4.9 million pounds, down 3.4 percent.

• See Cheese Output Up, p. 6

IDFA, NMPF Criticize Proposed Changes; Report Backs More Milk Substitution Options, Such As Cheese, YogurtWashington—A report released this week proposes revisions to the Special Supplemental Nutri-tion Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), including reducing the amount of dairy in all food packages.

The report, from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineer-ing, and Medicine, proposed the changes to better align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA). The committee that car-ried out the study and wrote the report recommended cost-neutral changes that include adding fish; increasing the amount of whole

grains; and increasing vegeta-bles and fruits as a trade-off for decreasing milk, juice, legumes, peanut butter, infant vegetables and fruits, and infant meats.

A program of USDA’s Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), WIC is one of the largest US nutrition programs, providing access to specific foods as well as nutrition education and health and social service referrals for low-income infants; children up to age five; and women who are pregnant, breast-feeding, or post-partum.

In 2015, the WIC program served approximately 8 million women, infants and children, at a cost of about $6.2 billion.

WIC food “packages” allow participants to obtain foods that

• See Less Dairy In WIC, p. 10

November Cheese Exports Up 10%, Cheese Imports Down 14%; NDM Exports Up 28%Washington—US dairy exports during November 2016 were valued at $429.3 million, up 14 percent from November 2015, according to figures released today by USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS).

US dairy exports during the first 11 months of 2016 were valued at $4.261 billion, down 12 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

US dairy imports during Novem-ber were valued at $268.3 million, up 1 percent from November 2015. January-November dairy imports were valued at $2.69 billion, down 3 percent from the same period in 2015.

Leading destinations for US dairy exports on a value basis dur-ing the first 11 months of 2016, with comparisons to the first 11 months of 2015, were: Mexico, $1.1 billion, down 5 percent; Can-ada, $571.5 million, up 12 percent; China, $335.4 million, down 20

percent; Philippines, $213.5 mil-lion, down 9 percent; South Korea, $206.3 million, down 29 percent; Japan, $184.4 million, down 27 percent; Indonesia, $142.1 mil-lion, down 19 percent; Vietnam, $109.8 million, down 31 percent; Australia, $95.1 million, down 26 percent; Malaysia, $78.7 mil-lion, down 31 percent; Dominican Republic, $70.4 million, down 1 percent; Saudi Arabia, $64.6 mil-lion, down 35 percent; and Taiwan, $64.3 million, down 4 percent.

Cheese exports during Novem-ber totaled 54.9 million pounds, up 10 percent from November 2015. Cheese exports during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 568.5 mil-lion pounds, down 12 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

Leading destinations for US cheese exports during the Janu-ary-November 2016 period, on a volume basis, with comparisons to the same period in 2015, were: Mexico, 179.4 million pounds, down 1 percent; South Korea, 82.7 million pounds, down 29 percent; Japan, 54.4 million pounds, down 23 percent; Australia, 29.8 million pounds, down 16 percent; Canada,

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FDA will probably be operating under a tight budget, and will be allo-cating resources toward enforcement of FSMA rules, among other things.

Past Issues Read this week’s issue or past issues of Cheese Reporter on your mobile phone or tablet by scanning this QR code.

A Few Things Dairy Industry Can Expect In 2017

D I C K G R O V E S

Publisher / EditorCheese Reportere: dgroves@cheesereporter.comtw: @cheesereporter

EDITORIAL COMMENT

Here we are in early 2017, and while it’s difficult to predict how the year will play out for the dairy industry, there are a few things that can be predicted with reason-able certainty.

For one thing, 2017 will see California join the federal milk marketing order system. Or not. It’s been almost two years since three dairy cooperatives — Cali-fornia Dairies, Inc., Dairy Farmers of America and Land O’Lakes — requested that USDA call a hear-ing to promulgate a federal order for California.

That hearing took place over 40 days in September, October and November 2015. In 2016, things were pretty quiet on the Califor-nia federal order front; there were deadlines for submitting transcript corrections, and deadlines for sub-mitting post-hearing briefs and reply briefs.

This proceeding has dragged on for so long that even the update from USDA’s Ag Marketing Ser-vice (“USDA Outlines Next Steps in California Milk Marketing Order Process”) is over a year old; it was issued on December 8, 2015.

But that update does provide an idea of what we can expect here in 2017 as far as a potential Cali-fornia federal order is concerned: after reply briefs are submitted, USDA will develop and issue a recommended decision based on the evidence presented during the rulemaking, and the agency will request public comment on that recommended decision.

After receiving and analyzing the public comments, USDA will issue a final decision. If the agency recommends a federal order for California, dairy producers in that state will vote on whether to adopt it. A “yes” vote by more than two-thirds of California’s dairy farm-ers or dairy farmers representing two-thirds of the milk produced in that state is needed to approve the order.

This process is expected to take around 18 months, USDA noted in that Dec. 8, 2015 update. That

means sometime around mid-2017, probably a little later, California dairy producers will have an oppor-tunity to vote on joining the fed-eral order system.

At this point, it’s impossible to predict whether producers will approve such an order, but it should be remembered that the co-ops that originally requested the hearing represent over 75 percent of the milk produced in Califor-nia (at least that was the case two years ago). But if they do, 2017 will go down in dairy history as the year in which California joined the fed-eral order system.

Also on the federal order front, it’s been almost a year and a half since the Organic Trade Associa-tion requested that USDA call a hearing on a proposal to provide a credit to organic fluid milk han-dlers against their monthly federal order pool obligations, dependent upon the price paid to dairy farmers for organic milk (coincidentally, the hearing request was submit-ted during the second week of the California federal order hearing).

Since then, USDA has stated on an almost-monthly basis that it is continuing to review the proposal, while the OTA has submitted sup-plemental information and also asked for additional data. Maybe we’ll see some actual movement on this OTA request in 2017.

Speaking of the OTA, it’s been over a year and a half since that organization submitted to USDA a proposal for a promotion, research, and information program covering domestic and imported organic products, and about eight months since the OTA submitted a revised proposal. Maybe USDA will pub-lish a proposed organic promotion order sometime this year.

Speaking of USDA, 2017 will mark the first time since early 2009 that somebody other than Tom Vil-sack has served as US secretary of agriculture. President-elect Donald J. Trump has yet to announce his choice to lead USDA, although it is perhaps telling that it’s taken Trump this long to name an ag sec-

retary (as far as recent history is concerned, President-elect Obama tabbed Vilsack on December 17, 2008, while President-elect George W. Bush named Ann Veneman on December 20, 2000).

There’s no doubt that Trump will alter the direction of the fed-eral government in at least a cou-ple of areas of importance to the dairy industry. The first is in trade. Under President Obama, the US negotiated and signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, which at least one study concluded would benefit the US dairy trade balance, but Trump plans to with-draw the US from the TPP.

Meanwhile, our guess is that the Transatlantic Trade and Invest-ment Partnership agreement being negotiated by the US and Euro-pean Union will not be finalized in the foreseeable future. And Trump has also talked about renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

Where US trade policy goes from here remains to be seen, but it’s worth remembering that US dairy exports have grown from less than $1 billion in 1993 (when NAFTA was signed) to over $5 billion last year, and that the US has gone from running dairy trade deficits to running dairy trade sur-pluses in the billions of dollars.

On the regulatory front, our guess is that Trump’s FDA will be less “activist” than Obama’s FDA. Some of that will be simply because Congress isn’t going to be passing any sweeping Food Safety Modernization Act-type legisla-tion over the next couple of years. Part of that is also because FDA will probably be operating under a tight budget, and will be allocating resources toward enforcement of FSMA rules, among other things.

A less activist FDA might be considered a positive for industry, but when it comes to such issues as updating its raw milk cheese regulations or the stricter enforce-ment of milk labeling standards, a more activist FDA might actually be helpful rather than harmful.

CHEESE REPORTERJanuary 6, 2017 Page 3

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FDA Issues Draft Guidance On Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed By CategorySeparate FDA Guidance Looks At Compliance Dates, Added Sugars, Amounts Of Vitamins, MineralsWashington—The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week released draft guidance for the food industry that provides examples of products that belong in each product category included in tables of Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACCs) per eating occasion.

The guidance is intended to help industry identify the product category to which specific products belong, but is not meant to provide an all-inclusive list of products that are available on the market for each product category.

The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act requires, with cer-tain exceptions, that food that is intended for human consumption and offered for sale bear nutrition information that provides a serv-ing size that reflects the amount of food customarily consumed and is expressed in a common measure that’s appropriate to the food.

In a final rule published in Janu-ary 1993, FDA established RACCs for specified product categories that manufacturers could use to determine the required label serv-ing size. In a final rule published last May, FDA updated or modi-fied certain pre-existing RACCs and established RACCs for new product categories.

Food product categories are listed in RACC tables in 21 CFR 101.12(b). The table for the gen-eral food supply provides three columns of information: the name of the product categories; the rel-evant RACCs as determined by FDA; and appropriate label state-ments, which are meant to provide examples of serving size statements that may be used on the label.

For purposes of the guidance released this week, a fourth col-umn has been added that contains examples of products that fall within each product category.

Dairy product and substitute categories include: cottage cheese; cheese used primarily as ingredi-ents (such as Ricotta); grated hard cheese (such as Romano); all other types of cheese, including cream cheese and spread; fluid cream or cream substitutes; powdered cream or cream substitutes; cream and half & half; condensed milk; evap-orated milk; milk, milk-substitute beverages and milk-based drinks; shakes or shake substitutes; sour cream; and yogurt.

Dessert categories include: ice cream, frozen yogurt, sherbet, novelties and related products; custards, gelatin or pudding; and sundaes. Butter is included in one of the fats and oils categories. The

less than $10 million in annual food sales).

Products that are labeled on or after July 26, 2018 (or July 26, 2019) must bear a nutrition label that meets FDA’s new nutrition labeling requirements. Products that are labeled before July 26, 2018 (or July 26, 2019) do not need to be in compliance with the new labeling requirements and, there-fore, do not need to bear the new nutrition label, FDA explained.

To determine the compliance date for a particular food product, FDA said it would not consider the location of a food in the distribu-tion chain. The agency consid-ers the date the food product was labeled for purposes of determining the compliance date.

The guidance also addresses issues surrounding the label-ing of added sugar. Among other

things, FDA noted that a food that already contains some indigenous sugar and additional added sugars, either directly or as a component in an ingredient, such as sweet-ened fruit added to yogurt, would be misbranded if the actual “Total Sugars” amount is greater than 20 percent in excess of the value for that nutrient declared on the label, or the records requirements for “Added Sugars” are not met.

Regarding the requirements (e.g., for rounding) for the dec-laration of quantitative amounts of vitamins and minerals declared on the Nutrition Facts label, FDA requires that those amounts (excluding sodium) be the amount of the vitamin or mineral included in a serving of the product using the required units of measurement and levels of significance.

category of sauces, dips and similar products includes dairy-based dips, as well as cheese sauces.

FDA also released draft guid-ance that provides questions and answers on topics related to com-pliance with the agency’s final Nutrition Facts labeling rule that was released last May. That final rule revises the Nutrition Facts label in a number of ways (for more details, please see “FDA Finalizes Changes To Nutrition,” on page 1 of our May 20, 2016, issue by scanning the QR Code on page 2 of this issue).

One issue addressed in the guid-ance is whether the updated Nutri-tion Facts label must appear on all foods sold by July 26, 2018 (or July 26, 2019, for manufacturers with

CHEESE REPORTERPage 4 January 6, 2017

from our archives

50 YEARS AGOJan. 6, 1967: Madison—Marschall Dairy Laboratory, Inc., Manufacturer of products for the dairy industry, was purchased this week by Miles Laboratories, Inc. of Elkhart, IN. As a subsidiary of Miles, all Marschall operations will continue at the Madison plant under present management.

Washington—A “cream cheese” and refrigerated chip dip with coco-nut cream as the principal ingredi-ent are the latest products in new non-dairy food items. “They are not only palatable and nutritious, but also fill a vacuum in the food habits of religious groups that are prohibited from simultaneous con-sumption of dairy and meat prod-ucts,” USDA’s Regional Research Lab reported.

25 YEARS AGOJan. 3, 1992: Washington—The prosperity of US agriculture in 1992 and beyond will con-tinue to depend significantly on the ability to turn chal-lenges that originate elsewhere into opportunities, according to USDA’s Outlook publication. There has been no shortage of challenges for US agriculture – from tumultuous political and economic upheavals in Central Europe and the Soviet Union, to adverse weather and pest problems.

Seattle, WA—Dairymen’s Creamery Association and Darigold announced this week that operations of the two coop-eratives have been officially merged.

10 YEARS AGODec. 29, 2007: Washington—Retail whole milk prices last year in 31 surveyed cities aver-aged $3.20 per gallon, down 12 cents from 2005 and the low-est average since 2003. New Orleans posted the highest aver-age whole milk prices last year at $4.10 per gallon. Chicago had the second-highest average retail whole milk price last year at $3.84 per gallon.

Trenton, NJ—A New Jersey appeals court has upheld a fuel adjustment add-on but rejected a premium of 76 per hundredweight for “rBST-free” milk. New York State Dairy Foods, Inc., whose members purchase and process milk from farmers in New Jersey and elsewhere, is the appellant in this case.

J O H N U M H O E F E R

Executive DirectorWisconsin Cheese Makers Association

608-828-4550jumhoefer @wischeesemakers.org

Winning The Battle Of Perceptions

WCMA PERSPECTIVES

Around the nation, dairy’s most sensitive subject – and the key to its future – is the transition to modern, sustainable dairy farms.

In long-established dairy regions like Wisconsin and Min-nesota, some consumer percep-tions and expectations for dairy farms lag reality, and lead to unin-formed opinions that larger, mod-ern farms are more corporate and factory-like, less caring and less concerned with their place in the community.

It can be frustrating to face such baseless perceptions and madden-ing to see environmental groups leverage those perceptions to seek donations and press lawsuits. Yet at times, a valve breaks or man-agement fumbles and an incident seems to indict thousands of hard-working family farms.

The dairy industry has to face these perceptions head-on. Clear, honest communication, matched by best practices and the aggressive uptake of technology and ideas can keep farms profitable while pro-tecting everyone’s water and air.

Here’s a look at the latest chal-lenges and opportunities in the battle of perceptions:

MoratoriaDunn county, in northwest Wis-consin, passed an ordinance Octo-ber 19 imposing a six-month ban on licensing any new livestock Confined Animal Feeding Opera-

tions (CAFOs) or licensing growth of more than 20 percent on exist-ing CAFOs in the county.

The ordinance created a live-stock operation study group to examine the impact of livestock CAFOs on groundwater, surface water, air quality and public health and safety.

The county may develop live-stock licenses or operations licenses based on the study group recom-mendations.

honest communication, matched by best practices

and the aggressive uptake of technology and

ideas can keep farms profitable while protecting everyone’s water and air.

A similar proposal in neighbor-ing St. Croix county, placed before the County Board on December 6, met a different end. Letters and testimony from the dairy farming community in this border county with Minnesota, as well as testi-mony from local dairy proces-sor Burnett Dairy Cooperative, defeated a six-month morato-rium. A study committee, similar to Dunn county, will explore the impact of CAFOs and other dis-chargers on the local environment.

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Wells ChallengedIn central Wisconsin, eight permits for new farm high capacity wells have been challenged by Clean Wisconsin, a Madison-based envi-ronmental advocacy group. For years, dairies and vegetable farms have been targeted in Wisconsin as the cause for surface water con-cerns.

In its suit, Clean Wisconsin lays out its damaging perceptions: “Over-pumping from high capacity wells has the potential to impact seepage lakes, streams, rivers and wetlands. Impacts include loss of surface area and volume, damage to fisheries and spawning areas, deg-radation of water quality, impacts to aesthetic beauty, impacts to navigation, and impacts to prop-erty values.”

Or not. There’s no consensus on the cause of some lower lake levels in central Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Cheese Makers Asso-ciation has aligned with ag organi-zations in Wisconsin to intervene in this case, joining the Depart-ment of Natural Resources to chal-lenge this take-down of agricultural wells.

Grass Roots StewardshipOptimism abounds in a growing movement toward watershed-based farms groups in Wisconsin. Dane county dairymen organized as Yahara Pride Farms have built a voluntary certification program to improve water quality while bal-ancing farm profitability. In 2015, the group calculated a 16,042-pound reduction in phosphorus run-off over three years due to practices like manure injection, strip tillage and use of cover crops.

Early in 2016, 35 dairy farms in Kewaunee county – a hotbed area in the debate over manure contam-ination of groundwater – formed

• See Umhoefer, p. 11

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Upper Midwest Order Seeks Comments On Requests To Reduce Shipping RequirementsUMMA, CMPC Cite Declining Class I Use, Fewer Distributing Plants, Rising Monthly Milk ProductionMinneapolis, MN—Vic Halver-son, administrator of the Upper Midwest federal milk marketing order, is requesting comments on two requests to reduce the shipping requirements on the order from 10 percent to 7.5 percent beginning in March 2017, and to increase the diversion limits from 90 percent to 92.5 percent.

Comments must be received by Halverson’s office on or before January 30, to be considered.

On December 23, Halverson received a request to reduce the Class I shipping percentage from the Upper Midwest Marketing Agency (UMMA), whose mem-bers are Associated Milk Producers, Inc., Bongards’ Creameries, First District Association, Dairy Farmers of America, Ellsworth Creamery, Foremost Farms, Land O’Lakes, National Farmers Organization and Plainview Milk Products.

One day later, Halverson received a similar request from Central Milk Producers Coopera-tive (CMPC), whose members are FarmFirst Dairy Cooperative, Sce-nic Central Milk Producers Coop-erative, Swiss Valley Farms, DFA, Foremost Farms, LOL and NFO.

UMMA and CMPC are both proposing to reduce the minimum Class I shipping requirement from supply plants to distributing plants in the Upper Midwest order from 10 percent to 7.5. That reduction would remain all year, consistent with the current Upper Midwest order practice of maintaining a

uniform requirement, and would take effective in March 2017. The diversion limits for distributing and bottling plants would increase from 90 percent to 92.5 percent.

In their requests, UMMA and CMPC cited the following data to establish the context for their request: Class I utilization percent-age trend, monthly Class I receipts, number of distributing plants in the Upper Midwest order, declin-ing Class I sales, and monthly total milk production, and the possibil-ity of months in which the 10 per-cent requirement may not have been sufficient to pool all eligible milk wanted to pool.

“The combination of these trends places a burden on han-dlers and effects the economics of distributing plants,” UMMA and CMPC noted.

More specifically on the data cited by UMMA and CMPC:

Class I utilization: Ten years ago (2006), the monthly Class I utili-zation percentage averaged almost 18 percent. In 2015, the average was under 12 percent. Class I uti-lization was below 10 percent from January through July 2016.

Declining monthly Class I receipts: In June 2016, Class I receipts reached a 16-year monthly low of just over 262 million pounds, almost 3 million pounds less than the previous low in June 2014. The average monthly total was around 290 million pounds during this time, a decline of over 22 percent in the average monthly total com-pared to the 2006-08 period, when they averaged 375 million pounds.

Declining number of distrib-uting plants in the Upper Mid-west order: In 2008, there were

26 recognized distributing plants in the Upper Midwest order but, as of October 2016, that number had fallen to 17. That is a 35 percent decrease in just eight years, “put-ting massive strains on the over-all milk distribution in the Upper Midwest.”

Not only have distributing plants closed, others have changed their production mix in order to meet changing retail demand. Despite the large reduction in the number of distributing plants, the plants that remain are not using all of the milk they receive for fluid products. Moreover, with fewer plants and changing production schedules, receiving times have been reduced, making deliveries harder to coordinate. With milk now traveling far greater distances, the higher shipping requirement “complicates logistics without benefit to the industry or the con-sumer,” and in some cases requires more costly transportation in order to reach a plant for delivery.

Declining fluid milk sales: By 2015, fluid milk sales were averag-ing about 10 to 11 percent below the midpoint of their 2001-2010 range of 54 and 56 billion pounds.

Rising monthly milk produc-tion: Record amounts of milk are being produced by dairy farm-ers. Each month in 2016 set a new monthly record high at least through July, and with the utiliza-tion rate at a fixed 10 percent, the percentage requirement is increas-ingly difficult to meet.

Burden of depooling: As a per-cent of the “full pool,” the “actual” delivered percent has been below 10 percent for much of the past 22 months, ranging from 10.8 per-cent to 7.8 percent. The “actual” delivered percent was below 10 percent every month in 2016, at least through October.

New Healthy Fats Coalition Aims To Affirm That Animal Fats Deserve A Central Place In US DietLos Angeles, CA—A group of like-minded organizations, com-panies and individuals has formed the Healthy Fats Coalition (HFC), an educational initiative whose mission is to affirm that animal fats deserve a central place in the US diet and in the popular imagina-tion.

Coast Packing Company, a leading supplier of animal fat shortenings in the western US, took the lead in organizing the HFC. The Coalition’s founding supporters include, among others, the Weston A. Price Foundation, Fatworks, Tendergrass Farms, and HeartBrand Beef/Akaushi Cattle.

“We feel that animal fats have been demonized for too long,” said Eric R. Gustafson, CEO of Coast Packing Company. “Fat mat-ters both for taste and for general health and well-being.

“The reality is that animal fats have tangible health benefits, are nowhere near as problematic as they once were thought to be, and their artificial/manufactured substitutes are far worse than originally believed,” Gustafson continued. “We see the Coalition embracing today’s compelling food culture, and recognizing that mini-mally processed animal fats belong in the kitchen — at restaurants and at home.”

The Healthy Fats Coalition is not a trade organization or in the business of promoting individual products or brands, Gustafson pointed out. Although commercial interests are welcome to partici-pate in the campaign, the HFC is not itself a commercial organiza-tion.

Support for the HFC involves no cost or obligation among par-ticipants.

The Coalition asks only that supporters post the HFC badge on their websites and various social media channels, and add their voices and ideas to the ongoing conversation.

In her 2014 best-seller The Big Fat Surprise, Nina Teicholz wrote: “The rush to banish animal fats from our diets has exposed us to the health risks of [artificial] trans fats and oxidizing vegetable oils. If we had not abandoned meat and dairy, we could still be using lard, tallow, and butter as our principal fats for cooking and eating. These fats are stable, do not oxidize, and have been consumed since the beginning of recorded human his-tory.”

For more information about the Healthy Fats Coalition, visit www.healthyfatscoalition.org; or e-mail info@healthyfatscoalition.org.

CHEESE REPORTERPage 6 January 6, 2017

70,000

75,000

80,000

85,000

90,000

95,000

100,000

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2016

2015

875,000

900,000

925,000

950,000

975,000

1,000,000

1,025,000

1,050,000

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2016

2015

Cheese Production2015 vs. 20161,000 pounds

6,000

6,500

7,000

7,500

8,000

8,500

9,000

9,500

10,000

10,500

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2016

2015

320,000

340,000

360,000

380,000

400,000

420,000

440,000

460,000

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2016

2015

Yogurt Production 2015 vs. 20161,000 pounds

125,000

135,000

145,000

155,000

165,000

175,000

185,000

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2016

2015

Butter Production2015 vs. 20161,000 pounds

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2016

2015

Ice Cream (reg. hard) Production 2015 vs. 20161,000 gallons

Dry Whey Production2015 vs. 20161,000 pounds

115,000

125,000

135,000

145,000

155,000

165,000

175,000

185,000

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2016

2015

NDM Production2015 vs. 20161,000 pounds

WPI Production2015 vs. 20161,000 pounds

80,000

85,000

90,000

95,000

100,000

J F M A M J J A S O N D

2016

2015

Lactose Production2015 vs. 20161,000 pounds

Cheese Output Up(Continued from p. 1)

American-type cheese production in November totaled 394.8 mil-lion pounds, up 3.9 percent from November 2015. January-October output of American-type cheese was 4.311 billion pounds, up 0.4 percent from a year earlier.

November American-type cheese production in most of the states broken out by NASS, with comparisons to November 2015, was: Wisconsin, 75 million pounds, up 1.5 percent; California, 53.2 million pounds, up 2.5 per-cent; Idaho, 50.4 million pounds, up 2.9 percent; Oregon, 16.3 mil-lion pounds, down 3.7 percent; Iowa, 14.6 million pounds, up 20.4 percent; and New York, 10.9 mil-lion pounds, down 0.7 percent.

Cheddar production during November totaled 281.6 mil-lion pounds, up 5.9 percent from November 2015. Cheddar out-put during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 3.095 billion pounds, down 0.2 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

November production of other American-type cheeses totaled 113.2 million pounds, down 0.8 percent from November 2015.

Italian, Other CheesesNovember Italian-type cheese production totaled 435.9 mil-lion pounds, up 2.6 percent from November 2015. Italian cheese output during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 4.807 billion pounds, up 4 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

November production of Ital-ian cheese in the states broken out

by NASS, with comparisons to November 2015, was: Wisconsin, 137 million pounds, up 7.8 percent; California, 135.4 million pounds, up 4.8; New York, 31.4 million pounds, down slightly; Pennsylva-nia, 20.7 million pounds, up 10.4 percent; and Idaho, 17.2 million pounds, down 18.6 percent.

Mozz ouput during November totaled 338.8 million pounds, up 1.6 percent from November 2015. Mozz output during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 3.75 bil-lion pounds, up 3.3 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

November production of other Italian cheese varieties, with com-parisons to November 2015, was: Provolone, 33.4 million pounds, up 7 percent; Parmesan, 28.8 mil-lion pounds, up 13.1; Ricotta, 23.5 million pounds, down 2.5 percent; Romano, 4.7 million pounds, up 3.6; and other Italian types, 6.7 million pounds, up 6.2 percent.

Production of other cheese vari-eties during November, with com-parisons to November 2015, was: Swiss cheese: 26 million pounds, up 3.2 percent; Cream and Neuf-chatel: 81.8 million pounds, up 0.8 percent; Brick and Muenster: 15.2 million pounds, down 5.4 percent; Hispanic cheese: 21.8 million pounds, up 3.3 percent; Blue and Gorgonzola: 7.6 million pounds, down 3.4 percent; Feta: 8 million pounds, up 5 percent; Gouda: 5.3 million pounds, down 7.5 percent; All other types of cheese: 14.5 mil-lion pounds, down 2 percent.

Whey Products ProductionNovember production of dry whey, human, totaled 71.4 million pounds, down 7.5 percent from

November 2015. Manufacturers’ stocks of dry whey, human, at the end of November totaled 60.6 mil-lion pounds, up 8.2 percent from a year earlier and up 1.6 percent from a month earlier.

November production of whey protein concentrate, human and animal, totaled 37.6 million pounds, down 8.9 percent from November 2015. Manufactur-ers’ stocks of WPC, human and animal, at the end of November totaled 59.6 million pounds, down 11.2 percent from a year earlier but up 5.9 percent from a month earlier.

Butter And Dry Milk ProductsNovember butter production totaled 143.7 million pounds, down 5.7 percent from November 2015. Butter output during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 1.725 billion pounds, up 3 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

Regional butter production dur-ing November, with comparisons to November 2015, was: West, 69.2 million pounds, down 9.8 percent; Central, 59.8 million pounds, down 2.9 percent; and Atlantic, 14.6 million pounds, up 4.7 percent.

Nonfat dry milk production during November totaled 126.8 million pounds, down 0.9 percent from November 2015. January-November NDM output totaled 1.593 billion pounds, down 4.7 percent from a year earlier.

Manufacturers’ shipments of NDM during November totaled 129.3 million pounds, up 23.4 per-cent from November 2015. Manu-facturers’ stocks of NDM at the end of November totaled 215.8 million

pounds, up 8.5 percent from a year earlier but down 3.9 percent from a month earlier.

Production of other dry milk products during November, with comparisons to November 2015, was: skim milk powder, 48.1 mil-lion pounds, up 7 percent; dry whole milk, 6.7 million pounds, up 12 percent; milk protein concen-trate, 12.6 million pounds, up 42.5 percent; and dry buttermilk, 9.8 million pounds, up 22.9 percent.

Yogurt, Other Dairy ProductsNovember production of yogurt, plain and flavored, totaled 326.4 million pounds, down 6.1 percent from November 2015.

Yogurt production during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 4.307 billion pounds, down 1.5 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

Sour cream production dur-ing November totaled 132.4 million pounds, up 7.2 percent from November 2015. January-November sour cream output totaled 1.247 billion pounds, up 4.1 percent from the same period in 2015.

Cream cottage cheese produc-tion in November totaled 25.6 million pounds, up 5.8 percent from November 2015. Lowfat cot-tage cheese output in November totaled 28 million pounds, up 4.9 percent from a year earlier.

Production of regular ice cream in November totaled 52 million gallons, down 5.3 percent from November 2015.

Lowfat ice cream output in November totaled 27.8 million gallons, up 3.6 percent from a year earlier.

CHEESE REPORTERJanuary 6, 2017 Page 7

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In Second Tender, EU Doesn’t Sell Any Skim Milk Powder Out Of Public InterventionBrussels, Belgium—European Union (EU) member states have agreed not to sell skim milk pow-der out of public intervention this week, the European Commission announced today.

Offers were received for a total of 11,914 tons of SMP, but the price range was too far from the prevailing market price and from the minimum selling price set at the previous tender (215.10 euros per 100 kilograms). Offered prices ranged from 165.1 euros per 100 kilograms to 196.1 euros per 100 kilograms.

The tender to put on sale the skim milk powder that entered into public intervention before November 1, 2015 (22,000 tons) started on November 25, 2016.

The quantities offered for sale represent roughly 6 percent of the total 354,000 tons, which went into public storage in 2015 and 2016.

The decision not to sell SMP indicates that selling at all costs is not an option for the Commis-sion and that the maintenance of market balance and price recov-ery remain its main objectives.

A third tender for the sale of the remaining quantity (21,962 tons) is open, with January 17, 2017, as the deadline for submit-ting offers.

The move to release these ini-tial volumes reflects the encour-aging signs of recovery being seen on the European milk market, the Commission noted. Following a steady slowdown, no additional quantitites of skim milk powder have been put into public inter-vention since last September, even though this market measure remains open.

New Zealand’s Dairy Exports Projected To Increase 3% In 2017, Then Jump 24% In 2018Increase Will Be Due To Milk Production, Global Dairy Price ReboundsWellington, New Zealand—New Zealand’s dairy export revenue is forecast to increase 3 percent in 2017, then increase 24 percent to $17 bilion in 2018 as the coun-try’s milk production is forecast to return to previous levels after two years of decline.

That’s according to the latest “Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries,” which was released last week by the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).

In the Situation and Outlook for Primary Industries report, dairy export values are forecasted at $13.7 billion for the year end-ing June 2017, up $0.4 billion from the June 2016 year, as rising prices more than offset a decline in export volumes.

A production recovery cou-pled with stronger global prices is driving up the export forecast to almost $17 billion for the year end-ing June 2018.

New Zealand’s dairy invento-ries were run down during the year ended June 2016, boosting export volumes by 6.1 percent in a year where production fell 1.5 percent, the report noted.

Unlike last year, inventories are not expected to play a large part in export volumes for the year ending June 2017.

New Zealand’s dairy export rev-enue for 2016, with forecasts for 2017 and 2018, for various dairy categories are as follows:

Cheese: $1.72 billion in 2016, $1.64 billion in 2017 and $1.79 billion in 2018.

Whole milk powder: $4.61 bil-lion in 2016, $4.82 billion in 2017 and $6.5 billion in 2018.

Butter, anhydrous milkfat and cream: $2.38 billion in 2016, $2.81 billion in 2017 and $3.5 bil-lion in 2018.

Skim milk powder and but-termilk powder: $1.347 billion in 2016, $1.51 billion in 2017 and $1.93 billion in 2018.

Casein and protein products: $1.834 billion in 2016, $1.57 bil-lion in 2017 and $1.8 billion in 2018.

Infant formula: $685 million in 2016, $680 million in 2017 and $740 million in 2018.

Other dairy products: $716 million in 2016. They are forcasted to reach $660 million in 2017 and $750 million in 2018.

A wetter than usual spring is behind an expected 1.7 percent drop in milk solids production for the 2016/17 season.

October (peak) production was down 6.1 percent compared to the previous year due to waterlogged pasture.

Wet spring weather is also reported to have had a negative effect on silage production. And many farmers will not be in a posi-tion to purchase much supple-mentary feed after two financially challenging seasons.

This creates a downside risk to MPI’s forecast if New Zealand has a dry summer.

A forecast decline in milk cow numbers will also contribute to lower milk production this season, the report noted.

Opening cow numbers are expected to be down 1.7 percent on the previous season following

a record cow cull in the June 2016 year.

The Ministry for Primary Indus-tries expects milk production to rebound 3.8 percent in the follow-ing season, assuming weather con-ditions allow production per cow to rise up to normal levels.

An expectation of higher global dairy prices may also incentiv-ize New Zealand dairy farmers to increase production in 2018, MPI reported

Global supply and demand are beginning to show signs of rebal-ancing, the report said. European Union (EU) production has been slowing since June, while produc-tion is expected to fall in most other major milk exporting coun-tries this year, mainly in response to price signals

One exception to this is the US, where production remains high. This has little impact on global markets at the moment due to strong domestic demand.

Chinese dairy demand is on the rise, with a record volume of dairy products imported during the year ended September 2016 despite falling milk powder imports. China is importing greater volumes of cheese, butter and liquid milk from Europe, as well as more liquid milk from New Zealand, according to

the Situation and Outlook for Pri-mary Industries report.

Strong global demand for butter is expected to continue as western consumers show a preference for natural fats over processed fats.

Recent Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction results are begin-ning to reinforce the idea that global supply and demand are rebalancing, the report pointed out.

Weighted average prices for all dairy products have increased strongly over the past three months and are at their highest level since March 2015.

Both a reducing global milk supply and increased Chinese demand are contributing to these higher dairy prices. In addition, Fonterra has announced plans to divert more milk into value-added products, leaving less available for lower-value milk powder manufac-turing.

This changing product mix is illustrated in New Zealand’s exports to China. In the June 2014 year, 83 percent of New Zealand’s dairy exports to China were milk powders.

This fell to 65 percent in the June 2016 year as exports of other products such as liquid milk and ice cream increased.

CHEESE REPORTERPage 8 January 6, 2017

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Global Dairy Trade Price Index Declines 3.9%; Four Of Eight Product Price Indices IncreaseAuckland, New Zealand—The price index on this week’s semi-monthly Global Dairy Trade (GDT) dairy commodity auction declined 3.9 percent from the previous auction, held two weeks ago.

That marked the second con-secutive decrease in the GDT price index. In the final auction of 2016, the price index had fallen 0.5 per-cent.

In this week’s auction, which featured 151 participating bid-ders and 120 winning bidders, prices were higher for Cheddar cheese, butter, skim milk pow-der and buttermilk powder and lower for whole milk powder, anhydrous milkfat, rennet casein and lactose.

Results from this week’s GDT auction, with comparisons to the auction held two weeks ago, were as follows:

Cheddar cheese: The aver-age winning price at the Global Dairy Trade auction was $3,894 per metric ton ($1.77 per pound), up 1.4 percent. Average winning prices were: Contract 1 (Febru-ary), $4,535 per ton, up 17.9 per-cent; Contract 2 (March), $3,916 per ton, up 3.5 percent; Contract 3 (April), $3,804 per ton, up 0.4 percent; Contract 4 (May), $3,753 per ton, down 2.2 percent; and Contract 5 (June), $4,035 per ton, down 10.3 percent.

Skim milk powder: The aver-age winning price was $2,660 per ton ($1.21 per pound), up 2.3 percent. Average winning prices were: Contract 1, $2,693 per ton, up 5.8 percent; Contract 2, $2,612 per ton, up 1.9 percent. Average winning prices for Contract 3 were $2,739 per ton, up 3.4 percent; Contract 4, $2,685 per ton, up 1.2 percent; Contract 5, $2,653 per ton, unchanged; and Contract 6 (July), $2,765 per ton, up 1.7 per-cent.

Whole milk powder: The aver-age winning price was $3,294 per ton ($1.49 per pound), down 7.7 percent. Average winning prices were: Contract 1, $3,252 per ton,

down 9.6 percent; Contract 2, $3,240 per ton, down 7.4 percent; Contract 3, $3,347 per ton, down 8.8 percent. Average winning prices for Contract 4, $3,326 per ton, down 6.8 percent; Contract 5, $3,381 per ton, down 6.5 percent; and Contract 6, $3,429 per ton, down 5.4 percent.

Butter: The average winning price was $4,308 per ton ($1.95 per pound), up 0.5 percent. Aver-age winning prices were: Contract 1, $4,400 per ton, up 2.2 per-cent; Contract 2, $4,335 per ton, up 1 percent; Contract 3, $4,295 per ton, unchanged; Contract 4, $4,280 per ton; Contract 5, $4,260 per ton, down 1.3 percent; and Contract 6, $4,155 per ton, up 3.2 percent.

Anhydrous milkfat: The aver-age winning price was $5,352 per ton ($2.43 per pound), down 0.6 percent. Average winning prices were: Contract 1, $5,345 per ton, down 4.3 percent; Contract 2, $5,340 per ton, down 0.4 per-cent; Contract 3, $5,363 per ton, up 0.8 percent. Average winning prices for Contract 4, $5,383 per ton, down 0.1 percent; Contract 5, $5,305 per ton, down 2.3 percent; and Contract 6, $5,415 per ton, down 0.6 percent.

Rennet casein: The average winning price was $6,234 per ton ($2.83 per pound), down 2.7 percent. Average winning prices were: Contract 1, $6,775 per ton, up 1 percent. Average winning prices for Contract 2, $6,006 per ton, down 4.6 percent; Contract 3, $6,430 per ton, down 2.1 percent; and Contract 4, $6,660 per ton, up 2.2 percent.

Lactose: The average winning price was $836 per ton (37.9 cents per pound), down 2.9 percent. That was for Contract 2.

Buttermilk powder: The aver-age winning price was $2,670 per ton ($1.21 per pound), up 4.5 per-cent. Average winning prices were: Contract 2, 42,617 per ton, up 3.7 percent; and the Average winning prices for Contract 3, $3,100 per ton, up 9.7 percent.

For more information, circle #5 on the Reader Response Card on p. 14 For more information, circle #6 on the Reader Response Card on p. 14

Restaurant Performance Index Rose 0.2% In Nov.; Operators Cautiously Optimistic About Future Sales GrowthWashington—The National Res-taurant Association’s Restaurant Performance Index (RPI) stood at 100.7 in November 2016, up 0.2 percent from October, the associa-tion reported late last week.

The RPI is constructed so that the health of the restaurant indus-try is measured in relation to a steady-state level of 100. Index values above 100 indicate that key industry indicators are in a period of expansion, while index values below 100 represent a period of contraction for key industry indi-cators.

The RPI consists of the Current Situation Index and the Expecta-tions Index. The Current Situa-tion Index, which measures current trends in four industry indicators (same-store sales, traffic, labor and capital expenditures), stood at 99.7 in November, up 0.1 percent from October.

Restaurant operators contin-ued to report choppy same-store sales results in November. Some 37 percent of operators reported a same-store sales increase between November 2015 and November 2016, down from 39 percent who reported a sales gain in October. And 40 percent of operators said their same-store sales declined in November, down from 46 percent in October.

Restaurant operators also reported dampened customer traf-fic levels in November. Some 26 percent of operators reported an increase in customer traf-fic between November 2015 and

November 2016, down from 29 percent of operators who reported similarly in October. And 52 per-cent said their customer traffic declined in November, unchanged from October.

The Expectations Index, which measures restaurant operators’ six-month outlook for four indus-try indicators (same-store sales, employees, capital expenditures and business conditions), stood at 101.6 in November, up 0.2 percent from October. All four expecta-tions indicators stood above 100 for the second straight month, which propelled the Expectations Index to its highest level in a year.

Although sales and customer traffic were mixed in Novem-ber, restaurant operators are cau-tiously optimistic that their sales will improve in the months ahead. Some 31 percent of operators expect to have higher sales in six months (compared to the same period in the previous year), down from 34 percent who reported similarly in October. And 16 per-cent of operators expect their sales volume in six months to be lower than it was during the same period in the previous year, which was essentially unchanged from Octo-ber.

Meanwhile, restaurant opera-tors are becoming more bullish about overall business conditions Some 37 percent of operators said they expect economic conditions to improve in six months, while 9 percent said they expect condi-tions to worsen. This represented operators’ strongest outlook for the economy in almost two years.

Some 58 percent of operators plan to make a capital expendi-ture for equipment, expansion or remodeling in the next six months, which is essentially unchanged from October.

CHEESE REPORTERJanuary 6, 2017 Page 9

Fieldbrook Foods Completes $4 Million Expansion To Boost Its Ice Cream ProductionDunkirk, NY—Fieldbrook Foods Corporation, a producer of private label ice cream and novelty prod-ucts, has completed a $4 million expansion to increase ice cream production at its headquarters here, New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced late last week.

With over 32 production lines at its plant, Fieldbrook ranks among the largest ice cream facilities in the US. The company’s products are distributed to all 50 states as well as Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

The expansion of the company’s 234,000-square-foot Dunkirk facil-ity in Chautauqua county included the purchase of new machinery and equipment to add two new production lines to manufacture specialty ice cream products, a project that was completed due in part to $400,000 in Excelsior tax credits from Empire State Devel-opment.

Fieldbrook Foods operates what is described as one of the most comprehensive and flexible manu-facturing platforms in the indus-try, with offerings that include soft novelties consisting of ice cream sandwiches, cups and cones, as well as stick novelties across a wide array of items and packaging counts. The company also pro-duces a wide offering of ice cream products in various packaging sizes, formats, flavors and formulations for retailers, contract manufactur-ing customers, and foodservice operators.

“We at Fieldbrook Foods are excited about our future in Dunkirk,” said Bob Charleston, the company’s president and CEO. “We continue to see progress in our manufacturing and warehous-ing operations and are delighted to add the additional 61 full-time staff to support this part of our overall strategy necessary to driv-ing continued operational excel-lence throughout the Fieldbrook business.”

In addition to receiving sup-port from Cuomo in its expansion efforts, Fieldbrook has recently invested $6 million of capital to add to its capacity, which has resulted in the ability to hire these additional full-time employees, Charleston added.

“Fieldbrook’s Dunkirk facility now employs hundreds of workers and their investment in two new production lines will help them maintain their competitive edge and plan for future production increases as the ice cream market continues to grow,” commented Howard Zemsky, president, CEO and commissioner of Empire State Development.

Emmi Acquires(Continued from p. 1)

Meyenberg carried out pioneering work in evaporated goat’s milk, which was sold exclusively in phar-macies and drug stores. This prod-uct is still a popular alternative to conventional evaporated milk for infants and families who are intol-erant of cow’s milk, Emmi noted.

Due to strong demand, the prod-uct range was expanded to include various drinking milks, cheese and butter made from goat’s milk.

Today, Meyenberg products are sold in all 50 states as well as in several other countries.

The company operates two pro-duction plants. Milk from some 30 goat’s milk farmers in Califor-nia and Idaho is processed in the Turlock plant, while the facility in Yellville works with 25 goat’s

milk producers from Kansas and Missouri.

Meyenberg also already works with two other California compa-nies acquired by Emmi in recent years, Cypress Grove and Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery, to bridge seasonal goat milk production.

“Since there is no successor in place from within the family, we took our time coming to a decision on the future of our family com-pany,” explained Robert Jackson, 89, Meyenberg’s CEO. “We saw how successful the acquisition of Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery was and became convinced that we would be able to trust Emmi with our company as well.”

Emmi had entered the goat’s milk product business in 2010 when it acquired Cypress Grove. Emmi’s goat’s milk network now comprises a total of five goat’s

milk processors, including Cypress Grove and Redwood Hill Farm & Creamery in the US, Bettine-hoeve and Goat Milk Powder in the Netherlands, and Lacteos Cap-rinos in Spain, as well as trading company AVH dairy, which is also based in the Netherlands but oper-ates on a global scale.

“Goat’s milk is in high demand and short supply in the US, but it is also a very challenging product as a result of its highly seasonal nature,” said Matthias Kunz, exec-utive vice president Americas for the Emmi Group.

Robert Jackson, the current CEO, will continue in his role dur-ing the transition period and also assist with the search for a suitable successor as a member of the board of directors.

There are no staff changes planned elsewhere.

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True Prevalence Of Food Allergies Unknown; Current Labeling System For Allergens IneffectiveWashington—Although there is widespread perception that food allergy prevalence is on the rise, no US study has been conducted with sufficient sample size and in various populations to determine the true prevalence of food aller-gies, and most studies likely overes-timate the number of people with food allergies, according to a recent report from the National Acade-mies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

In addition, the public and health care providers frequently misinterpret a food allergy and its symptoms, cannot differentiate a food allergy from other immune and gastrointestinal diseases such as lactose intolerance, and don’t know which management and pre-vention approaches are effective and best to use.

As the first step in its suggested roadmap to greater public safety regarding food allergies, the com-mittee that conducted the study and wrote the report recommended that the Centers for Disease Con-trol and Prevention (CDC) obtain prevalence estimates in a system-atic and statistically sound manner.

The report also identified addi-tional steps that various stakehold-ers should take to promote food allergy safety, including: Improve education and train-

ing for the food industry and others. The committee found deficiencies in the knowledge of food indus-try personnel about how to man-age and communicate about food allergens. Therefore, food industry leaders should work to integrate food allergy training into existing general food safety and customer service training for employees at all levels and stages of the food indus-try. Implement improved poli-

cies and practices to prevent the occurrence of severe reactions. The current precautionary labeling system for allergenic foods is not effective in informing consumers about the risks from food allergens. Food manufacturers, FDA and USDA should work cooperatively to replace the precautionary aller-gen labeling system for low-level allergen contaminants with a new risk-based labeling approach. Expand research programs.

Critical to future improvements in food allergy safety, the committee identified a list of research priori-ties in areas such as diagnosis and prognosis, mechanisms, risk deter-minants, and management.

Eight food groups are consid-ered to be major allergens, includ-ing milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy, fish and crustacean shellfish.

Less Dairy In WIC(Continued from p. 1)

provide specific nutrients for preg-nancy, growth, and development. Foods offered through WIC must align with the current (DGA), which are revised every five years, and an evaluation of the WIC food packages is congressionally man-dated to occur every 10 years.

“It is contradictory that the NAS

report would both acknowledge that many WIC participants are not getting enough

milk, yet at the same time suggest further reducing the milk served through the

program.”

—Jim Mulhern, NMPF, and Michael Dykes, IDFA

The committee that wrote the report concluded that the milk in the current food packages provides more than a supplemental amount of dairy (between 85 and 119 per-cent of recommended amounts of dairy). At the same time, intakes of dairy foods are below recom-mended amounts in several WIC-participating population subgroups.

Available data indicate that redemption of whole milk is approximately 75 percent and that redemption of lowfat milk is approximately 71 percent for chil-dren and 56 percent for women. These data suggest that what is redeemed may not be fully con-sumed by the intended recipient.

The amounts of milk provided in the food packages for both women and children were revised in the report. Fat-free and lowfat milk were retained as required forms of milk for children two years of age and older and also women because of the DGA recommendation to consume fat-free or lowfat dairy products.

Inasmuch as dairy intakes are below recommended amounts across participant subgroups, milk, or the substitution options cur-rently permitted, may not be pre-ferred forms of dairy, the report said. The revised food packages allow more substitution options for milk in several food packages as follows: one pound of cheese and one quart of yogurt for four quarts of milk; or two quarts of yogurt for two quarts of milk.

Women who receive food pack-age VII have a third option of two pounds of cheese for six quarts of milk. Soy-based yogurt or soy-based cheese substitutes meeting the specifications outlined in the report are also allowed.

Inasmuch as the estimated aver-age requirement (EAR) for cal-cium is the same for all subgroups of WIC-participating women (i.e., 800 milligrams), the report said it is reasonable to provide the same quantity of the key food group for calcium (i.e., dairy) across food packages for women. The DGA recommendation for the intake of dairy for all subgroups of women is three cup-equivalents per day, but the current food packages for women provide widely varying amounts of dairy.

With these factors in mind, the amounts of dairy provided in food packages for pregnant (V-A), partially breastfeeding (V-B), and fully breastfeeding (VII) women are reduced to match the amount of dairy provided in food package

VI for postpartum women. This change includes removal of the additional one pound of cheese for fully breastfeeding women (VII).

The amount of milk in the revised food packages provides 71 percent of the recommended amount of dairy for women.

The current food package for children two to less than five years of age (IV-B) provides 85 percent of the DGA recommended amount of dairy. The committee considered this a greater than supplemental amount and reduced the amount of dairy provided in this food package to 75 percent of the DGA recom-mended amount.

Although the DGA food pat-terns do not apply to children ages one to less than two years, the amount of dairy suitable for this group is likely to be lower (in proportion to energy and nutrient needs) than those for children ages two to less than five years.

Therefore, in the revised food packages, the amount of dairy in food package IV-A was reduced to provide two quarts less milk per month compared to food package IV-B.

Not only are the revised amounts of milk better aligned with the committee’s concept of supplemen-tal, but the amounts of milk in the revised food packages are closer to the amounts of milk that are cur-rently redeemed, the report noted. Therefore, it is anticipated that the volume of milk redeemed in the revised package will be similar to the amount currently redeemed (with the exception of food pack-age VII), or even slightly higher as a result of the additional yogurt option, which may be preferred to fluid milk in some racial and eth-nic groups.

The committee’s recommen-dations “would undermine the nutritional value of the WIC pro-gram to needy Americans,” Jim Mulhern, president and CEO of the National Milk Producers Fed-eration, and Michael Dykes, presi-dent and CEO of the International Dairy Foods Association, said in a joint statement.

“It is contradictory that the NAS report would both acknowl-edge that many WIC participants are not getting enough milk, yet at the same time suggest further reducing the milk served through the program,” Mulhern and Dykes said.

Milk, cheese and yogurt are the number one source of nine essen-tial nutrients in children’s diets, including protein and calcium, among others, they pointed out.

“The reason dairy foods are included in the WIC package is that no other food source can deliver such a wide range of vital nutrients to mothers and young children. Cutting back on dairy is a step in the wrong direction,” Mulhern and Dykes added.

CHEESE REPORTERJanuary 6, 2017 Page 11

For more information, circle #13 on the Reader Response Card on p. 14

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UmhoeferContinued from p. 4

Peninsula Pride Farms. The group will focus on voluntary adoption of farm practices to improve ground-water and surface water, and use monitoring and data analysis to drive continuous improvement.

Dairy Business Association, with an endorsement from WCMA, launched the Dairy Strong Sus-tainability Alliance last year to support these local farm efforts and foster more groups across Wiscon-sin. In December, Foremost Farms USA formally teamed up with the Alliance, which seeks conserva-tion groups, government agencies, processors and universities to join the effort.

The best answer to shrill claims about modern farming is proactive stewardship, documented progress, open doors for neighbors and hon-est communication. The key to dairy’s future is proving that mod-ern family farms work for clean air and clean water, and care for the animals that feed us all. JU

John Umhoefer has served as executive director of the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association since 1992. You can phone John at (608) 828-4550; Fax him at (608) 828-4551; or e-mail John Umhoefer at jumhoefer@wischeesemakers.org

National Panel Of 44 Judges Announced For Mar. 7-8 US Championship Cheese ContestContest Entry Deadline Is February 1, 2017Green Bay, WI—The Wiscon-sin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) announced a panel of 44 cheese judges from around the US to evaluate entries in the 2017 United States Championship Cheese Contest (USCCC), slated for March 7-8 in the Lambeau Field Atrium in Green Bay, WI.

The entry dead-line is February 1, 2017. Online entry is available at www.uschampioncheese.org.

Judges include cheese graders, buy-ers, dairy and food science professors and research-ers, and hail from 19 states. They include: Jill Allen, Tillamook County

Creamery Association, Tillamook, OR. Greg Anderson, Pace Dairy

Foods, Rochester, MN. Doug Anker, Zillah, WA. Austin Asche, Agropur, Hull,

IA. Kirk Baldwin, Valley Queen

Cheese Factory, Milbank, SD. Marc Bates, Bates Consult-

ing, Cannon Beach, OR. Larry Bell, Bell Consulting,

Green Bay, WI. Tori Boomgaarden Gross,

Kemps LLC, Rochester, MN. Dr. Bob Bradley, University

of Wisconsin-Madison food sci-ence department. Ted Brown, Cabot Creamery,

West Glover, VT. David Burk, Marathon

Cheese, Marathon, WI. KJ Burrington, WI Center for

Dairy Research, Madison. Mike Comotto, DairiCon-

cepts, Springfield, MO. Benedicte Coude, San Diego. Dr. Richard Dargan, Dargan

Dairy Solutions, Cocoa Beach, FL. Todd Druhot, Gourmet Foods

International, Atlanta, GA. Samantha Erickson, Saputo,

Lena, WI. Eric Goan, Mississippi State

University, Mississippi State, MS. Glenn Hatcher, Pacific

Cheese, Hayward, CA. John Jaeggi, Wisconsin Cen-

ter for Dairy Research. Mark Johnson, Wisconsin

Center for Dairy Research. Dr. Kerry Kaylegian, Pennsyl-

vania State University, University Park, PA. Dan Konz, DairiConcepts,

Kimball, MN. Laura Laehn, Masters Gallery

Foods, Plymouth, WI. Charles Lindberg, New York

State Department of Agriculture

& Markets Division of Milk Con-trol, Belfast, NY. Terry Lensmire, Agropur,

Appleton, WI. Dr. Lloyd Metzger, South

Dakota State University, Brook-ings, SD. Virgil Metzger, Vernon Hills,

IL. Max McCalman, MAXVOL,

Inc., Brooklyn, NY. N e v -

ille McNaugh-ton, CheezSorce, Davisville, MO. C h r i s -

tophe Megevand, Schuman Cheese, Fairfield, NJ. Ken Neu-

meier, Wisconsin Aging and Grading

Cheese, Kaukauna, WI. Ben Novak, Novak’s Cheese,

De Pere, WI. Mike Pederson, fWisconsin

Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, Argyle, WI. Noreen Ratzlaff, USDA

Dairy Grading, Lisle, IL. David Satterness, Chr. Han-

sen, Inc., Sioux Falls, SD. John Simpson, USDA, Green

Bay, WI. Lassa Skinner, Culture maga-

zine, Boston, MA. Marianne Smukowski, Wis-

consin Center for Dairy Research. Cathy Strange, Whole Foods

Market, Austin, TX. Don Tribby, DuPont Nutri-

tion & Health, New Century, KS. Eric Vorpahl, Grassland

Dairy Products, Greenwood, WI. David Wentz, Sargento

Foods, Plymouth, WI. Matt Zimbric, cheese pro-

curement manager, Saputo Cheese USA, Lincolnshire, IL.

“Contest judges are nation-ally renowned for their expertise in technical cheese evaluation, one of the elements that makes the United States Championship Cheese Contest the best and most competitive event of its kind,” said the WCMA’s Kirsten Henning, USCCC event manager.

Henning noted that the judg-ing panel will again work under the watchful eye of Chief Judge Bob Aschebrock, veteran USDA dairy grader. Assisting Asche-brock in 2017 are the famous “Red Hats,” the contest’s team of assistant chief judges, including Tim Czmowski of Agropur, Inc., Hull, IA; Stan Dietsche, Oshkosh Cheese Sales & Storage, Osh-kosh, WI; Jim Mueller, Mueller Consulting, Green Bay, WI; and Sandy Toney, Masters Gallery Foods, Plymouth, WI.

“Each entry is judged by the nation’s experts on the product fla-

vor, body and texture, salt, color, finish, packaging, and other appro-priate attributes,” Aschebrock said. “It’s an intensive process, but one we know will not only result in fair judging, but also in helpful feedback for the artisans who make the products.”

“We expect to break records again in 2017 with the number of cheese, butter, and yogurt entries, Henning said”

USCCC organizers thanked and acknowledged the efforts of Con-test Chairman Brian Eggebrecht of Welcome Dairy in Colby, WI.

Nearly 200 industry represen-tatives will volunteer their time and assist the contest over the two day event. Assisting Eggebrecht and the USCCC with key con-test operations are: Steve Stet-tler, Decatur Dairy, Brodhead, WI; Dave Buholzer, Klondike Cheese, Monroe, WI; Craig Linz, Tetra Pak, Winsted, MN; Kevin Thome, Cheese Reporter, Madison, WI; Gary Grossen, Babcock Hall Dairy Plant, UW-Madison; Steve Krause, Oconto Falls, WI; Richard Wold; Bruce Workman, Edelweiss Creamery, Monticello, WI; Dan Stearns, Agropur, Weyauwega, WI; Randy Swenson, Wisconsin Aging & Grading Cheese, Little Chute, WI; and Greg Alberts, Kel-ley Supply, Colby, WI.

CHEESE REPORTERPage 12 January 6, 2017

www.cheesereporter.com/events.htmSUPPLIER NEWS

COMPANY NEWS

PEOPLE

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Cheese Reporter Ad.pdf 1 2/25/15 5:07 PM

Basic-Plus Cheese Making Short CourseFebruary 7 - 9, 2017Mount Vernon, WA

31st Advanced Cheese Making Short CourseMarch 7 - 9, 2017

Pullman, WA

Pasteurization WorkshopApril 19 - 20, 2017

Pullman, WA

Register at:

http://creamery.wsu.edu/upcoming

For more information contact: John Haugen

WSU Creamery Managerjfhaugen@wsu.edu

509.335.5737

WSU Creamery

Educational Opportunities

Jan. 22-24, 2017: Winter Fancy Food Show, San Francisco, CA. For more details, visit www.spe-cialtyfood.com.

•Jan. 29-Feb. 1: 2017 Dairy Forum, J.W. Marriott Orlando Grande Lakes, Orlando, FL. For more information, visit www.idfa.org.

•March 7-8: 2017 US Champi-onship Cheese Contest, Green Bay, WI. Visit www.uschampi-oncheese.org.

•April 4-6: ProFood Tech, McCormick Place, Chicago, IL. For more information, visit www.profoodtech.com.

•April 12-13: 2017 Wisconsin Cheese Industry Conference, Alliant Energy Center, Madi-son, WI. See www.cheesecon-ference.org.

•April 23-25: ADPI/ABI Joint Annual Conference, Chicago Marriott Downtown, Chicago, IL. Visit www.adpi.org for more information.

•May 12-17: NCIMS Conference, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel, Grand Rapids, MI. Visit www.ncims.org.

•June 4-6: 53rd IDDBA Confer-ence & Expo, Anaheim Conven-tion Center, Anaheim, CA. For details, visit www.iddba.org.

•June 25-28: IFT Annual Meet-ing & Expo, Las Vegas, NV. Visit www.ift.org.

•July 26-29: 2017 ACS Annual Conference & Cheese Compe-tition, Denver, CO. Visit www.cheesesociety.org.

•Aug. 10-11: Idaho Milk Pro-cessors Association Annual Meeting, Sun Valley Resort, Sun Valley, ID. For details, visit www.impa.us.

•Sept. 17-20: International Whey Conference, Sheraton Grand Hotel, Chicago, IL. Visit www.internationalwheyconfer-ence.org.

PLANNING GUIDE

WCIC Covers Marketing To Millennials, Global Cheese Trade, Product InnovationsPopular Artisan Program Where Participants Learn At The Vat ReturnsMadison—A diverse speaker lineup has recently been released for the Wisconsin Cheese Industry Conference (WCIC), taking place here April 12-13 at the Alliant Energy Center.

Hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association (WCMA) and the Center for Dairy Research (CDR), the two-day conference kicks off with a session led by con-sumer psychologist Kit Yarrow on marketing to Millennials.

The US Food and Drug Admin-istration’s (FDA) John Sheehan will provide food safety updates, while CDR staff will share the lat-est in milk and whey proteins. CDR staff will also present new innova-tions in cheesemaking, highlight-ing milk standardization, salting and research on warm whey.

Other WCIC seminars include an overview of issues impacting the global cheese trade, a primer on cheese grading, and discussion strategies to recruit and retain a quality workforce as the labor pool shrinks.

Attendees may also sign up for a new human resources boot camp, Keller said.

The WCIC artisan program will return this year, offering hands-on opportunities to learn at the vat from international experts in cow, sheep and goat cheesemaking.

“WCIC has a longstanding reputation as the nation’s pre-mier event for cheese, butter and whey manufacturers, and that’s grounded in its substantive edu-cational opportunities,” said event director Judy Keller.

“In 2017, we’re excited to offer our friends in the industry a greater variety and depth of learning than ever before,” Keller said.

With 272 exhibit hall booths reserved, the 2017 WCIC will be the largest ever held.

“Between the seminars and the exhibit floor, WCIC will connect you with the information and the people you need to create the best products, grow your business, and reach new markets,” Keller contin-ued.

Registration is now available online. The early registration deadline is Jan. 16, offering attend-ees 20 percent off full or single-day registration costs.

Advance registration will close April 4.

New this year, WCMA is also offering a special discount code – CM45 – for exhibits-only reg-istration for dairy manufacturers, processors and marketers at $45 per person.

For more information or to reg-ister online, visit www.cheesecon-ference.org.

Better Process Cheese School Planned For March 21-22 At UW-MadisonMadison—The University of Wis-consin-Madison will host its Better Process Cheese School here March 21-22.

The course is designed to cover LACF regulations pertaining to shelf-stable process cheese manu-facture. It’s intended for operators, supervisors and management per-sonnel in process cheese manufac-turing facilities, along with food

safety professionals and regula-tory officials involved in audits or inspections, or LACF filing for process cheese products.

Topics to be covered include microbiology and control of clos-tridium botulinum, thermal pro-cessing/pasteurization, formulation control, process instrumentation, HACCP, production and packag-ing controls, and record-keeping.

The registration deadline is Feb. 28. Cost to attend is $575 per per-son, and special government and students rates are available. For details or to register online for the course, visit www.fri.wisc.edu.

25th Annual Grassworks Grazing Conference In Wisconsin Dells, Feb 2-4Wisconsin Dells, WI—Registra-tion is open for the Annual Graz-ing Conference taking place here Feb. 2-4 at the Chula Vista Resort.

The event, “Resilience Through Generations,” includes dairy grazing apprenticeship introduction; Upper Midwest grass finishing; getting a dairy career started; and a discus-sion panel.

For more details or to sign up online, visit www.grassworks.org.

CHEESE REPORTERJanuary 6, 2017 Page 13

MARKET PLACECLASSIFIED ADVERTISINGphone: (608) 246-8430 fax: (608) 246-8431e-mail: classifieds@cheesereporter.comSe

rvin

gth

eWorld's Dairy Industry W

eekly

Since 1876

Classified ads should be placed by Thursday for the Friday issue. Clas-sified ads charged $.75 per word. Classified ads payable in advance. Display Classifieds charged per column inch. For more information, call 608-246-8430.

1. Equipment for Sale

MSA 200 WESTFALIA SEPARATOR. Just arrived. Perfect Bowl condition - NO PITTING. Two for sale. Call Great Lakes Separators at (920) 863-3306 or e-mail drlambert@dialez.net.

HIGH CAPACITY SEPARATOR: Alfa-Laval hmrpx 718 HGV hermetic separator. 77,000 pounds per hour sep-aration/110,000 pounds per hour stan-dardization. Call Great Lakes Separator at 920-863-3306 or email drlambert@dialez.net.

SEPARATOR NEEDS - Before you buy a separator, give Great Lakes a call. TOP QUALITY, reconditioned machines at the lowest prices. Call Dave Lam-bert, Great Lakes Separators at (920) 863-3306; drlambert@dialez.net.

1. Equipment for Sale

1. Equipment for Sale

FOR SALE: 1500 and 1250 cream tanks. Like New. (800) 558-0112. (262) 473-3530.

FOR SALE: Car load of 300-400-500 late model open top milk tanks. Like new. (262) 473-3530

2. Equipment Wanted

WANTED TO BUY: Westfalia or Alfa-Laval separators. Large or small. Old or new. Top dollar paid. Call Great Lakes Separators at (920) 863-3306 or email drlambert@dialez.net

3. Cheesecloth

CHEESECLOTH FOR ALL YOUR CHEESEMAKING NEEDS- Grade 60 (32x28) White Cheesecloth: $241*/Case. 36” Wide x 60 Yards. All con-structions, medical grade. Microfiber and dairy wipers too. Contact Lucy Bauccio at Monarch Brands by emaill-ing lucyb@monarchbrands.com or call 267-238-1643

Have other hard-to-find items? Adver-tise their availability here. Call 608-246-8430 for more information or visit www.cheesereporter.com

4. Walls, Flooring

EPOXY OR FIBERGLASS floors, walls, tank-linings, and tile grouting. Installed by M&W Protective Coating Co. LLC. For more information, please call (715) 234-2251.

EXTRUTECH PLASTICS Sanitary POLY BOARD© panels provide bright white, non-porous, easily cleanable surfaces, perfect for non-food con-tact applications. CFIA and USDA accepted and Class A for smoke and flame. Call 888-818-0118 or epiplas-tics.com.

5. Real Estate

DAIRY PLANTS FOR SALE: http://dairyassets.webs.com/dairy-plants. Call Jim at 608-835-7705

7. Promotion & Placement

PROMOTE YOURSELF - By con-tacting Tom Sloan & Associates. Job enhancement thru results oriented professionals. We place cheese mak-ers, production, technical, maintenance, engineering and sales management people. Contact Dairy Specialist David Sloan, Tom Sloan or Terri Sherman. Tom Sloan & Associates, Inc. PO Box 50, Watertown, WI 53094. Call: (920) 261-8890 or FAX: (920) 261-6357; or email: tsloan@tsloan.com

8. Help Wanted

LICENSED CHEESE MAKER and Pro-duction Supervisor for Fond du lac, WI production. For more information, con-tact billb@sanfordrose.com or call 608-592-2700

PLANT MANAGER: for a small-medium size Dairy Plant in Pittsburgh, PA. 7 -10+ years in food production, milk intake, P&L, proven leadership, change mgmt. For more information, contact billb@sanfordrose.com or call 608-592-2700

9. Consultants

Are you a consultant and looking to help the industry? Or are you looking for some help? Advertise here. Call 608-246-8430; email info@cheesere-porter or visit www.cheesereporter.com for more information.

10. Cheese & Dairy Products

FOR SALE: 42,000 pounds of Organic White Kosher Cheddar Cheese. 7 - 9 months in age. Call (920) 946-7107 or email phil856lvegas@gmail.com for pricing information.

KEYS MANUFACTURING: Dehydrators of scrap cheese for the animal feed industry. Contact us for your scrap at (217) 465-4001; email keysmfg@aol.com.

11. Milk

The “Industry’s” Market Place for Products, Services, Equipment and Supplies, Real Estate and Employee Recruitment

Manways & Inspection Ports

Sanitary, Heavy-Duty Prevents CIP Solution,

Air and Powder Leakage Evaporator Dryer Technologies, Inc. www.evapdryertech.com

Western Repack

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Handling cheese both as a service and on purchase.

Bring us your special projects

Western Repack, LLC(801) 388-4861

We Purchase Fines and Downgraded Cheese

General Machinery CorporationCall NOW at 1-888-243-6622

Email: sales@genmac.comwww.genmac.com

General Machinery CorporationCall NOW at 1-888-243-6622

Email: sales@genmac.comwww.genmac.com

3010 TU-WaySimultaneously cuts either two 40-lb blocks

or up to four 20-pound Mozz loaves.

General Machinery CorporationCall NOW at 1-888-243-6622

Email: sales@genmac.comwww.genmac.com

General Machinery Corporation

1820 Single DirectionCheese Cutter

Reduces wire cutable product into uniform portions for dicing, shredding,melting, or blending.

Call NOW at 1-888-243-6622Email: sales@genmac.com

www.genmac.com

General Machinery Corporation

Hydrauflake ChunkerFrozen Block Flaker

Designed to chunk frozen cheese and butter blocks in preparation for further processing.

Call NOW at 1-888-243-6622Email: sales@genmac.com

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3001EW TU-WAY Exact Weight Cheese Cutter

Designed to cut cheese blocks into portions for packaging or further processing.

For hard to find products, supplies or employees, visit

www.cheesereporter.com/classifieds.htm or e-mail info@cheesereporter.com

or 608-246-8430 or 608246-8431

11. Milk

SHEEP MILK: The Wisconsin Sheep Dairy Cooperative has sheep milk available for the 2017 season. $70.00 CWT. Lowest price ever. Call Emily: 715-360-8552 or email: ebmeisegeier@sheepmilk.biz

14. Warehousing

FREEZER SPACE AVAILABLE: We have expanded and have freezer space available. Please contact Bob at Martin Warehousing at 608-435-6561 ext *229 or email Bob at bobs@martin-milk.com

REFRIGERATION, DRY & FROZEN STORAGE SPACE AVAILABLE: We’ve added cooler space and a heated dry storage area. Contact: Eric at SUGAR RIVER COLD STORAGE at Call 1-877-283-5840 or email srcs@tds.net

17. Miscellaneous

For more information on any of these advertisers, contact 608-246-8430; email info@cheesereporter.com or visit our online supplier directory at www.cheesereporter.com/supplier.htm.

CHEESE REPORTERPage 14 January 6, 2017

HISTORICAL MILK PRICES - CLASS IV Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

‘09 9.59 9.45 9.64 9.82 10.14 10.22 10.15 10.38 11.15 11.86 13.25 15.01‘10 13.85 12.90 12.92 13.73 15.29 15.45 15.75 15.61 16.76 17.15 16.68 15.03 ‘11 16.42 18.40 19.41 19.78 20.29 21.05 20.33 20.14 19.53 18.41 17.87 16.87‘12 16.56 15.92 15.35 14.80 13.55 13.24 14.45 15.76 17.41 18.54 18.66 17.83‘13 17.63 17.75 17.75 18.10 18.89 18.88 18.90 19.07 19.43 20.17 20.52 21.54‘14 22.29 23.46 23.66 23.34 22.65 23.13 23.78 23.89 22.58 21.35 18.21 16.70‘15 13.23 13.82 13.80 13.51 13.91 13.90 13.15 12.90 15.08 16.43 16.89 15.52‘16 13.31 13.49 12.74 12.68 13.09 13.77 14.84 14.65 14.25 13.66 13.76 14.97

Circle, copy and FAX to (608) 246-8431 for prompt response

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Issue Date: 1/06/17

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January 4, 2017—AMS’ National Dairy Prod-ucts Sales Report. Prices included are pro-vided each week by manufacturers. Prices collected are for the (wholesale) point of sale for natural, unaged Cheddar; boxes of butter meeting USDA standards; Extra Grade edible dry whey; and Extra Grade and USPH Grade A nonfortified NFDM. •Revised

WEEK ENDINGStyle and Region Dec. 31 Dec. 24 Dec. 17 Dec. 10

40-Pound Block Cheddar Cheese Prices and Sales Weighted Price Dollars/PoundUS 1.7696 1.7884• 1.8334 1.8857Sales Volume PoundsUS 12,589,933 15,628,402• 13,613,470 14,322,682

500-Pound Barrel Cheddar Cheese Prices, Sales & Moisture Contest

Weighted Price Dollars/PoundUS 1.7644 1.7882• 1.7761 1.8146 Weighted Price Adjusted to 38% Moisture US 1.6813 1.7040• 1.6928 1.7338 Sales Volume PoundsUS 9,501,625 10,798,260• 12,412,307 12,170,956Weighted Moisture Content PercentUS 34.94 34.94 34.95 35.11

Butter

Weighted Price Dollars/PoundUS 2.1627 2.1150 2.0974 2.1064•Sales Volume PoundsUS 2,254,894 2,526,025 3,761,551• 3,952,316•

Dry Whey Prices

Weighted Price Dollars/PoundsUS 0.4140 0.4069• 0.4030 0.3932Sales Volume US 4,902,655 5,329,721• 6,360,381 6,430,465

Nonfat Dry Milk

Average Price Dollars/PoundUS 0.9932 0.9704• 0.9666 0.9553Sales Volume PoundsUS 12,085,732 19,145,101• 15,832,025 15,424,192

DAIRY PRODUCT SALES

Class III - Cheese Milk Price 2015 2016PRICE (per hundredweight) $14.44 $17.40SKIM PRICE (per hundredweight) $4.43 $9.56

Class II - Soft Dairy Products 2015 2016PRICE (per hundredweight) $16.71 $15.26BUTTERFAT PRICE (per pound) $2.9127 $2.3424SKIM MILK PRICE (per hundredweight) $6.75 $7.32

Class IV - Butter, MP 2015 2016

PRICE (per hundredweight) $15.52 $14.97

SKIM MILK PRICE (per hundredweight) $5.54 $7.04

BUTTERFAT PRICE (per pound) $2.9057 $2.3354

NONFAT SOLIDS PRICE (per pound) $0.6153 $0.7822

PROTEIN PRICE (per pound) $1.3599 $2.6922

OTHER SOLIDS PRICE (per pound) $0.0355 $0.2063

SOMATIC CELL Adjust. rate (per 1,000 scc) $0.00079 $0.00090

AMS Survey Product Price Averages 2015 2016

Cheese, US 40-block, NASS $1.5719 $1.7990Butter, CME $2.5709 $2.1000Nonfat Dry Milk $0.7893 $0.9579Dry Whey $0.2336 $0.3994

Class Milk & Component PricesDecember 2016 with comparisons to December 2015

California 4a & 4b Milk Prices - December 2016 with comparisons to December 2015 Minimum Prices per cwt

Class Lb. Fat Lb. SNF 2015 20164a $2.3220 $0.7655 $14.55 $14.794b $2.3220 $0.9733 $12.90 $16.59

Commodity Market Prices 2015 2016Cheese, US 40-block, CME $1.4687 $1.7568AA Butter, CME $2.4221 $2.1470Nonfat Dry Milk (low/med. heat), West, USDA $0.7820 $0.9418Dry Whey (Mostly), West, USDA $0.2375 $0.4022

DAIRY FUTURES PRICESSETTLING PRICE *Cash SettledDate Month Class III* Class IV* Dry Whey* NDM* Butter* Cheese*12-30 January 17 16.47 16.43 42.800 104.175 227.000 1.68301-2 January 17 — — — — — —1-3 January 17 16.51 16.29 42.800 103.800 222.000 1.68601-4 January 17 16.52 16.29 42.800 104.125 224.000 1.68801-5 January 17 16.57 16.29 42.800 103.950 224.000 1.6910

12-30 February 17 16.95 16.70 44.500 108.000 226.000 1.72101-2 February 17 — — — — — —1-3 February 17 16.92 16.64 44.500 108.000 221.025 1.71201-4 February 17 16.84 16.63 44.500 107.975 222.000 1.70701-5 February 17 16.70 16.63 44.650 107.900 223.000 1.6960

12-30 March 17 17.30 16.91 45.250 109.875 227.525 1.75001-2 March 17 — — — — — —1-3 March 17 17.17 16.91 44.750 109.675 222.525 1.74001-4 March 17 17.03 16.89 45.025 109.475 223.175 1.72201-5 March 17 16.92 16.89 45.000 109.100 223.525 1.7090

12-30 April 17 17.48 17.12 45.725 112.000 227.075 1.76701-2 April 17 — — — — — —1-3 April 17 17.36 17.00 45.700 111.025 224.500 1.75501-4 April 17 17.25 17.00 45.700 111.200 226.975 1.74301-4 April 17 17.07 17.00 45.400 111.600 226.975 1.7250

12-30 May 17 17.56 17.34 45.800 114.000 228.100 1.77301-2 May 17 — — — — — —1-3 May 17 17.52 17.34 45.800 113.750 225.000 1.77201-4 May 17 17.45 17.22 45.800 113.275 225.275 1.76501-5 May 17 17.26 17.22 45.475 113.375 225.275 1.7450

12-30 June 17 17.67 17.50 46.175 115.725 228.350 1.78401-2 June 17 — — — — — —1-3 June 17 17.73 17.45 46.375 115.425 225.000 1.78801-4 June 17 17.62 17.40 46.250 114.625 225.500 1.78501-5 June 17 17.46 17.30 46.250 114.500 225.500 1.7680

12-30 July 17 17.82 17.71 46.000 117.000 228.925 1.79801-2 July 17 — — — — — —1-3 July 17 17.83 17.58 46.750 117.000 227.250 1.79801-4 July 17 17.73 17.54 46.750 116.500 224.500 1.79501-5 July 17 17.63 17.50 46.500 116.250 225.900 1.7850

12-30 August 17 17.84 17.84 46.400 118.975 228.925 1.80301-2 August 17 — — — — — —1-3 August 17 17.84 17.75 46.750 118.725 228.925 1.80301-4 August 17 17.80 17.64 46.750 117.100 224.500 1.80001-5 August 17 17.69 17.64 46.500 117.275 225.025 1.7880

12-30 September 17 17.90 17.90 46.450 119.975 229.650 1.80601-2 September 17 — — — — — —1-3 September 17 17.90 17.90 46.875 119.550 225.025 1.80001-4 September 17 17.81 17.82 46.875 119.425 223.775 1.80001-5 September 17 17.71 17.82 46.000 119.425 225.025 1.7900

12-30 October 17 17.80 17.85 46.350 119.875 225.800 1.79901-2 October 17 — — — — — —1-3 October 17 17.78 17.85 46.750 119.375 223.000 1.79601-4 October 17 17.74 17.85 46.750 119.850 223.000 1.79001-5 October 17 17.65 17.76 46.750 119.750 223.000 1.7880

12-30 November 17 17.64 17.73 46.525 121.000 224.650 1.78201-2 November 17 — — — — — —1-3 November 17 17.60 17.73 46.750 120.500 224.650 1.78201-4 November 17 17.58 17.73 46.750 120.500 222.475 1.78201-5 November 17 17.52 17.73 46.500 120.500 222.475 1.7710

Interest - Jan 5 35,168 5,032 5,173 6,457 5,604 24,296

$1.25

$1.35

$1.45

$1.55

$1.65

$1.75

$1.85

$1.95

J F M A M J J A S O N D J

40-Pound Block Avg

CME vsAMS

CHEESE REPORTERJanuary 6, 2017 Page 15

DAIRY PRODUCT MARKETSAS REPORTED BY THE US DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

WHOLESALE CHEESE MARKETS

Total conventional dairy advertisements increased 15%, and organic dairy ads increased 177%. Conventional butter ads decreased 34%, but organic butter ads saw a sharp increase. The national average price for 1pound conventional butter is $3.35, while 1 pound organic butter is $5.65, representing an organic price premium of $2.30. Conven-tional yogurt ads increased 85%, and organic yogurt ads increased 174%. The average sale price for 4-6 ounce conventional Greek yogurt is $0.95, while 4-6 ounce organic Greek yogurt averaged $1.18. The average sale price for 4-6 ounce conventional yogurt is $0.55, while 4-6 ounce organic yogurt averaged $1.33. The U.S. advertised price for 8 ounce conventional cheese blocks averaged $2.13, up 6 cents from last week. Ads for conventional 8 ounce shred cheese averaged $2.15, down 5 cents from last week. The collective number of conventional cheese ads decreased 11%, while organic cheese ad numbers saw large increases. This week, the difference between the weighted average price for organic half gallon milk, $3.86, and the weighted average price for conventional half gallon milk, $1.23, resulted in an organic price premium of $2.63. Organic milk adver-tisements increased 297%, while ads for conventional milk decreased 1%

NATIONAL - CONENTIONAL DAIRY PRODUCTS

ORGANIC DAIRY - RETAIL OVERVIEW National Weighted Retail Avg Price: Butter 1 lb: $.5.65Cheese 8 oz block: $3.76Cheese 8 oz shred $3.29Cottage Cheese 16 oz $3.99Cream Cheese 8 oz $2.50Ice Cream 48-64 oz $3.99

Milk ½ gal: $3.86Milk gal: $5.40Sour Cream 16 oz: $2.99Greek Yogurt 4-6 oz: $1.18Greek Yogurt 32 oz: $4.99Yogurt 4-6 oz: $1.33Yogurt 32 oz: $3.33

WHOLESALE BUTTER MARKETSNATIONAL: Plentiful offerings of cream have increased butter churning across all regions. Some Central region producers report concerns over increasing end-of-year inventories. Northeastern producers report regional retail orders are slower, while food service requests are steady. Western contacts report stronger than expected demand for December. This time of year is typically slow for butter sales, but with limited bulk butter availability and stronger domestic ordering, demand could remain active. So far this year, the pro-gram has accepted assistance requests for 12.125 million pounds of butter.

CENTRAL: Production levels are active due to the availability of cream. Producers face readily available cream coming from bottlers. A large volume of this cream is clearing into churns. Nevertheless, with lower AMF supplies in the region, some Class II processors are starting to pull more cream out of the churns. Retail but-ter demand is seasonally slow, while food service remains steady to slightly slower. Most butter processors are focusing on bulk production. However, print output is active in a few processing facilities as the Super Bowl approaches. Inventories are steady to building into cold storage.

NORTHEAST:There is plenty of cream available for making butter. Some are being offered additional cream, but lack capacity to use it. Other manufacturers are buying more cream, primarily to make butter for the freezer to be sold later. Many manufacturers expect cream will be tighter next week.

WEST:Inventories are tighter and market prices are strong. Domestic demand has backed off a little from the pre-holiday pull, but is still seasonally strong and steady. A number of the manufacturers are actively churning to make use of the cream in their possession, but are not eager to buy addi-tional loads of cream. A few other pro-cessors are working to sell off any extra cream into other markets. Much of the production focus is on making bulk but-ter. There are also a few manufacturers starting to plan print butter runs for the spring holidays. Bulk butter pricing in the West this week is 2 cents under to 5 cents above, based on the CME Group with various time frames and averages used. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, November 2016 butter production was 42.4 million pounds, down 6.9% from a year ago.

NATIONAL - DEC 30: Milk availability, across all regions, is abundant this week. Extra milk in the Northeast is increasing bulk cheese offerings as cheese producers ramp up produc-tion. Cheesemakers in the Midwest and West are finding milk at discounted spot rates, keeping cheese production levels high. Cheese demand in the Northeast and West has maintained strength, while some Midwestern contacts report a seasonal slowdown. Cheese prices con-tinue to move downward. However, producers are expecting strong sales prior to the Super Bowl and are hopeful for more exporting opportunities beginning in 2017. Barrel inventories remain abundant, while blocks are tighter, but generally avaialble for buyer needs.

NORTHEAST- JAN 4: Cheese makers say sales may have edged back slightly from pre-holiday orders, but are still seasonally strong. Bottlers are using heavier volumes of milk, however, processors report there is plenty of milk for manufacturing. Cheese plants are running at or near full production schedules. There has been a little increase in cheese stocks following the holiday blitz. Mozzarella demand is increasing as schools resume classes and the football playoffs and pizza season begin. The Northeast December 2016 monthly average price for Cheddar blocks is $2.3384, compared to $2.0306 one year ago. Processed 5# sliced average price is $2.0463, compared to $1.9299 one year ago. Wholesale prices, delivered, dollars per/lb:Cheddar 40-lb blocks: $2.1250 - $2.4100 Process 5-lb sliced: $1.6950 - $2.1750Muenster: $2.1100 - $2.4600 Swiss Cuts 10-14 lbs: $3.2700 - $3.5925

MIDWEST AREA - JAN 4: Milk remains available for cheese producers. Milk prices are beginning to increase following the discounted holiday influx. Cheesemakers, taking advantage of the discounted spot loads of previous weeks, report using milk they have on hand. Thus, there were fewer reports of spot purchases of milk this week. With available milk, schools returning from break, and football playoff season approaching, production is active. Cheese demand, which was slow in the last week of 2016, is better than expected this week. Some pizza cheese processors report orders are nearly where they would expect them to be in late January. Inventories are up a bit this week.

Wholesale prices delivered, dollars per/lb: Process 5# Loaf: $1.6525 - $2.0125Brick/Muens 5# Loaf: $2.0300 - $2.4550 Cheddar 40# Block: $1.7575 - $2.1525Monterey Jack 10#: $2.0050 - $2.2100 Blue 5# Loaf: $2.2975 - $3.2850Mozzarella 5-6# (LMPS): $1.8300 - $2.7700 Grade A Swiss 6-9#: $2.7875 - $2.9050

WEST - JAN 4: Western cheese makers report good demand for cheese has continued past the winter holidays. Although sales have slowed somewhat, buyers seem willing to make orders if price points are favorable. Domestic demand for branded cheese is solid. A few manufacturers report much of their 2017 contracted cheese business is in place for retail and wholesale accounts. Cheese production is active and milk is in good supply. A few processors are seeking out additional loads of milk to meet current orders. Industry contacts report a lot of aged blocks and barrels are in warehouses across the region. Contacts say supplies of fresh cheese blocks are tighter, but still in good supply for customer needs.

Wholesale prices delivered, dollars per/lb: Process 5# Loaf: $1.7400 - $1.9975Cheddar 40# Block: $1.7975 - $2.2425 Cheddar 10# Cuts: $1.9775 - $2.1975Monterey Jack 10#: $1.9875 - $2.1475 Grade A Swiss 6-9#: $2.4950 - $2.9250

FOREIGN -TYPE CHEESE - JAN 4: Sliced cheese prices within the EU and Ger-many in particular, have stabilized this week after a slight decline last week. Ordering has increased in the New Year to replenish retail stocks. Demand for cheese to export has increased, particularly Mozz. Cheese production remains lower than desired due to volumes of milk available. Cheese available for immediate sale tends to be prioritized toward regular customers first. Customers may have to work hard to find cheese for near term delivery.

Selling prices, delivered, dollars per/lb: Imported DomesticBlue: $2.6400 - 5.2300 $2.1750 - 3.6625Gorgonzola: $3.6900 - 5.7400 $2.6825 - 3.4000Parmesan (Italy): 0 $3.5650 - 5.6550Romano (Cows Milk): 0 $3.3650 - 5.5150Sardo Romano (Argentine): $2.8500 - 4.7800 0Reggianito (Argentine): $3.2900 - 4.7800 0Jarlsberg (Brand): $2.9500 - 6.4500 0Swiss Cuts Switzerland: 0 $3.3075 - 3.6300Swiss Cuts Finnish: $2.6700- 2.9300 0

DRY DAIRY PRODUCTS - JANUARY 5NFDM - CENTRAL: To some industry participants, the recent SMP upward pricing movement at the GDT is boosting domestic values. The market undertone is steady to firmer. Some buyers are puzzled about the current market conditions, taking a wait, and see attitude, anticipating lower prices in the near future. Most processing plants continue actively processing NDM. Stocks are grow-ing, but are highly committed to cover Q1 contract requirements. Production is inter-mittent. Inventories are very tight.

DRY BUTTERMILK - CENTRAL: f.o.b. spot prices are higher on a firmer mar-ket, in line with NDM. Condensed volumes are becoming higher as heavy cream vol-umes continue clearing into butter churning. Operational schedules for dry production are limited as most processors are focusing on clearing condensed skim loads. In addition, some Class II manufacturers are starting to pull moderate condensed buttermilk vol-umes. Therefore, dry buttermilk inventories are becoming tight.

EAST: Prices shifted higher as firmness from the nonfat and butterfat solids markets support component values. Dry buttermilk production trends are in line with churning activity, but are hampered by dryer time

availability. Plant managers indicate their primary focus is clearing condensed skim, freeing up some condensed buttermilk vol-umes for clearance through the spot market.

WPC - CENTRAL & WEST: 34% prices moved significantly higher. Manufac-turers report multiple inquiries from buyers who are eager to gobble up any extra load of WPC34%. Inventories continue to be tight. WPC34% production is steady to lower. Some manufacturers have systematically moved away from WPC34% production to higher whey protein concentrations. LACTOSE - CENTRAL & WEST: the top of the price range moved significantly higher. The mostly price series is unchanged as a market tug-of-war is taking place. Some manufacturers report a firm market, strong demand and buyers eager to assure cover-age of desired brands of lactose. Proces-sors say buyer interest in 200 mesh lactose is especially keen. A few industry contacts, however, report receiving bids from some customers that are near the bottom of the price range. They suggest some manufac-turers are offering excess inventory into the market at lower prices. As a result, some buyers are pitting suppliers against each other to leverage price concessions.

WEEKLY COLD STORAGE HOLDINGSSELECTED STORAGE CENTERS IN 1,000 POUNDS - INCLUDING GOVERNMENT

DATE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . BUTTER CHEESE

1/2/17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,946 82,4421/01/17 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,740 81,357Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -794 1,085Percent Change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -6 1

RETAIL PRICES - CONVENTIONAL DAIRY - SEPTEMBER 9Commodity

Butter 1#

Cheese 8 oz block

Cheese 1# block

Cheese 2# block

Cheese 8 oz shred

Cheese 1# shred

Cottage Cheese

Cream Cheese

Ice Cream 48-64 oz

Flavored Milk ½ gallon

Flavored Milk gallon

Milk ½ gallon

Milk gallon

Sour Cream 16 oz

Yogurt (Greek) 4-6 oz

Yogurt (Greek) 32 oz

Yogurt 4-6 oz

Yogurt 32 oz

US NE SE MID SC SW NW

3.35 3.39 3.00 3.12 3.50 3.99

2.13 2.31 2.11 1.90 2.56 1.96 1.67

3.38 3.99 2.02 3.84 3.92

6.25 6.99 6.29 4.99

2.15 2.22 2.06 2.05 2.11 2.20 2.40

3.97 3.99 3.99 4.10 3.99 3.92

1.62 1.84 1.34 1.34 1.53 1.66 1.98

1.95 2.20 2.44 1.32 1.93 1.69 1.50

2.87 2.64 2.78 3.06 3.33 3.21

2.07 1.71 0.99 3.49

3.04 3.50 2.95 2.48

1.23 1.00 1.32 1.28 0.99

2.74 3.91 2.27 2.63 2.68

1.65 1.83 1.52 1.41 1.60 1.54 1.76

0.95 0.96 0.97 0.94 0.94 0.92 0.97

3.80 4.57 2.99 3.99 4.26 3.50

0.55 0.57 0.55 0.55 0.53 0.56 0.43

2.16 2.45 2.06 2.99 2.50 2.00 1.90

Butter 1# 3.35 3.39 3.00 3.12 3.50 3.99

Cheese 1# block 3.38 3.99 2.02 3.84 3.92

Cheese 8 oz shred 2.15 2.22 2.06 2.05 2.11 2.20 2.40

Cottage Cheese 1.62 1.84 1.34 1.34 1.53 1.66 1.98

Ice Cream 48-64 oz 2.87 2.64 2.78 3.06 3.33 3.21

Flavored Milk gallon 3.04 3.50 2.95 2.48

Milk gallon 2.74 3.91 2.27 2.63 2.68

Yogurt (Greek) 4-6 oz 0.95 0.96 0.97 0.94 0.94 0.92 0.97

Yogurt 4-6 oz 0.55 0.57 0.55 0.55 0.53 0.56 0.43

US: National Northeast (NE): CT, DE, MA, MD, ME, NH, NJ, NY, PA, RI, VT;Southeast (SE): AL, FL, GA, MD, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV; Midwest (MID): IA, IL, IN, KY, MI, MN, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI; South Central (SC): AK, CO, KS, LA, MO, NM, OK, TX; Southwest (SW): AZ, CA, NV, UT; Northwest (NW): ID, MT, OR, WA, WY

CHEESE REPORTERPage 16 January 6, 2017

CME CASH PRICES - JANUARY 2 - 6, 2017Visit www.cheesereporter.com for daily prices

CHEDDAR CHEDDAR AA GRADE A 500-LB. BARRELS 40-LB. BLOCKS BUTTER NFDM

MONDAY No No No No January 2 Trading Trading Trading Trading

TUESDAY $1.5950 $1.6700 $2.2200 $1.0200 January 3 (-½) (+1) (-4¾) (NC)

WEDNESDAY $1.5950 $1.6600 $2.2600 $1.0275 January 4 (NC) (-1) (+4) (+¾)

THURSDAY $1.5950 $1.6575 $2.2600 $1.0300 January 5 (NC) (-¼) (NC) (+¼)

FRIDAY $1.5750 1.6700 $2.2200 $1.0525January 6 (-2) (+1¼) (NC) (+1¼)

Week’s AVG $1.5900 $1.66438 $2.2400 $1.0325 Change (+0.0281) (-0.00125) (-0.0581) (+0.0150)

Last Week’s $1.5619 $1.66313 $2.2981 $1.0175AVG

2016 AVG $1.5030 $1.4785 $2.0370 $0.7440 Same Week

MARKET OPINION - CHEESE REPORTER

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

‘05 14.38 13.93 13.87 14.34 13.39 13.62 14.01 12.99 14.23 13.72 12.69 13.26‘06 12.56 11.14 10.49 10.43 10.48 10.65 10.28 10.8 11.87 11.40 12.32 12.37‘07 12.47 13.20 14.13 15.20 18.05 21.18 20.54 19.41 19.34 17.65 19.75 18.58 ‘08 16.91 17.54 16.94 16.79 18.66 19.12 17.77 16.14 16.63 16.63 15.14 13.95‘09 9.02 10.11 10.45 10.41 9.54 9.52 9.39 11.29 11.40 12.69 13.76 15.04‘10 12.72 12.95 11.13 12.30 12.40 12.23 13.37 14.39 15.48 15.66 13.14 12.22‘11 12.49 16.92 16.76 14.34 14.74 18.79 19.35 18.60 16.63 15.78 17.19 15.14‘12 14.23 13.42 13.67 13.43 13.56 14.65 15.18 16.57 17.50 19.43 18.48 16.30‘13 15.84 15.41 15.02 16.92 17.20 15.91 15.65 16.32 16.65 16.82 17.30 18.03‘14 20.31 21.14 22.16 21.73 19.34 19.07 18.69 19.96 22.39 20.94 18.70 14.78‘15 13.75 13.78 13.97 14.22 14.63 15.55 14.98 15.74 14.94 14.75 14.32 12.90‘16 13.72 13.05 13.24 12.71 11.37 13.03 14.67 16.34 15.24 14.43 17.45 16.59

HISTORICAL MILK PRICES - CLASS 4B

WHEY MARKETS - JANUARY 2 - 6, 2017

For more information, circle # 33 on the Reader Response Card on p. 14

RELEASE DATE - JANUARY 5, 2017

Animal Feed Whey—Central: Milk Replacer: .3150 (+1½) – .4150 (+1½)

Buttermilk Powder: Central & East: .9400 (+2) – 1.0200 (+2) West: .9200 (+2) – 1.0200 (+2) Mostly: .9500 (+2) – 1.0000 (+3)

Casein: Rennet: $3.0100 (NC) – $3.0400 (-1) Casein: Acid: $3.0500 (NC) – $3.1000 (NC)

Dry Whey Powder—Central (Edible): Nonhygroscopic: .3600 (+3) – .4600 (+2) Mostly: .3900 (+2) – .4300 (+2)

Dry Whey–West (Edible): Nonhygroscopic: .3750 (+2½) – .4800 (+¾) Mostly: .4200 (+2½) – .4750 (+4) Dry Whey—NE: .3900 (NC) – .4600 (NC)

Lactose—Central and West: Edible: .2400 (NC) – .5800 (+10) Mostly: .3400 (NC) – .4000 (NC) Nonfat Dry Milk —Central & East: Low/Medium Heat: .9200 (-2) – 1.0800 (NC) Mostly: .9500 (-2) – 1.0500 (+2) High Heat: 1.1000 (+½) - 1.1800 (+1) Nonfat Dry Milk —Western: Low/Medium Heat: .9650 (+2½) –1.0700 (NC) Mostly: 1.0000 (+2) –1.0500 (NC) High Heat: 1.0550 (NC) – 1.1650 (NC)

California Weighted Average NFDM: Price Total Sales December 30 $.9681 3,471,600 December 23 $.9615 10,248,455 Whey Protein Concentrate—Central and West: Edible 34% Protein: .8000 (+2) – 1.0325 (+3¼) Mostly: .8500 (+3½) – .9825 (+3¼)

Whole Milk—National: 1.4400 (+19) – 1.6000 (NC) Visit www.cheesereporter.com for dairy and historical cheese, butter, and whey prices

Cheese Comment: On Tuesday, 1 car of blocks was sold on a bid at $1.6700, which raised the price. Wednesday’s block market activity was limited to an uncov-ered offer of 1 car at $1.6600, which lowered the price. Thursday’s block market activity was limited to an offer-based sale of 1 car at $1.6575, which reduced the price. Four cars of blocks were sold Friday, the last on a bid at $1.6800; an uncovered offer of 1 car at $1.6700 then set the price. The barrel price declined Tuesday on an uncovered offer of 1 car at $1.5950, then declined Friday on an uncovered offer of 1 car at $1.5750.

Butter Comment: The butter price declined Tuesday on an offer-based sale of 1 car at $2.2200, increased Wednesday on a bid-based sale of 1 car at $2.2600 (that was the last of 14 cars sold), then declined Friday on an offer-based sale of 1 car at $2.2200.

NDM Comment: The NDM price increased Wednesday on a bid-based sale of 1 car at $1.0275, rose Thursday on an unfilled bid for 1 car at $1.0300, and increased Friday on an unfilled bid for 1 car at $1.0525.

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Dairy Exports Up(Continued from p. 1)

first 11 months of 2016, WPC exports totaled 285.6 million pounds, up 35 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

Lactose exports during Novem-ber 2016 totaled 67.8 million pounds, up slightly from November 2016. Lactose exports during the January-November 2016 period totaled 729.6 million pounds, up slightly from the same period in 2015.

November butter exports totaled 5.1 million pounds, up 142 percent from November 2015. Butter exports during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 29.9 mil-lion pounds, down 15 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

Ice cream exports during November totaled 9.8 million pounds, up 7 percent from Novem-ber 2015. January-November ice cream exports totaled 120.4 mil-lion pounds, down 3 percent from a year earlier.

Yogurt exports during Novem-ber totaled 2.6 million pounds,d own 13 percent from November 2015. Exports during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 29.8 mil-lion pounds, down 2 percent from the first 11 months of 2015.

US cheese imports during November totaled 41.5 million pounds, down 14 percent from

November 2015. The value of those cheese imports, $119.6 mil-lion, was down 7 percent from November 2015.

Cheese imports during the first 11 months of 2016 totaled 406 mil-lion pounds, up 4 percent from the first 11 months of 2015. The value of those cheese imports, $1.145 billion, was down 3 percent from a year earlier.

The value of other (non-cheese) US dairy imports during November was $148.7 million, up 8 percent from November 2015. During the January-November 2016 period, the value of other US dairy imports totaled $1.546 billion, down 2 per-cent from the January-November 2015 period.

Leading sources of other US dairy imports during the first 11 months of 2016, on a value basis, with comparisons to the first 11 months of 2015, were: New Zea-land, $579.2 million, down 13 per-cent; Ireland, $182.9 million, up 9 percent; Canada, $126 million, up 11 percent; Mexico, $103.2 mil-lion, up 15 percent; the Nether-lands, $76.3 million, up 4 percent; Denmark, $57.2 million, down 4 percent; Germany, $53.7 million, up 8 percent; Australia, $53.4 mil-lion, up 27 percent; Italy, $49.6 million, up 1 percent; France, $43.4 million, up 2 percent; and Chile, $39.1 million, up 10 per-cent.