The United States Department of
Agriculture says it’s going to buy about
11 million pounds of cheese for $20 million to help processors deal with a
surplus.
Increased milk inventories, higher
European exports, low prices, sluggish demand and shifting consumption habits
have helped to create the huge cheese reserve, pushing the surplus to a 30-year
high.
Dairy farmers’ revenues have declined
by 35 per cent in the last two years.
Congress, the National Farmers Union,
the American Farm Bureau and the National Milk Producers Federation all urged
the agriculture department to purchase cheese.
"This commodity purchase is part
of a robust, comprehensive safety net that will help reduce a cheese surplus
that is at a 30-year high while, at the same time, moving a high-protein food
to the tables of those most in need," said Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack in a news release.
