Butter – Monthly Production Declines to a Four and a Half Year Low According to USDA, Aug ’15 U.S. butter production of 128.6 million pounds declined 1.2% YOY and 3.5% MOM on a daily average basis to a new four and a half year low. Butter production typically reaches its seasonal lows during the month of August. Butter production declined 18.9% YOY in the Atlantic U.S. and 4.8% YOY in the Central U.S. but increased by 0.1% YOY in the Western U.S. California butter production increased by 0.3% YOY while Pennsylvania butter production was down sharply, finishing 20.2% below the previous year. ’14-’15 YTD butter production is down 0.8% YOY through the first 11 months of the production season. Cheese – Production Increases 3.5% YOY, Reaches New Record High for the Month of August Aug ’15 total cheese production of 974.4 million pounds increased YOY for the 29th consecutive month, finishing 3.5% higher than the previous year and reaching a new record high for the month of August. Cheddar cheese production of 273.7 million pounds finishing up 3.1% YOY while other-than-Cheddar cheese production of 700.7 million pounds increased 3.6% YOY. ’14-’15 YTD cheese production is up 2.6% YOY through the first 11 months of the production season with cheddar cheese production also up 3.1% over the same period. The 2.6% increase in annual cheese production would be consistent with the ten year average annual growth rate. Dry Whey –Production Finishes Higher YOY for Seventh Time in Past Eight Months Consistent with the continued growth in cheese production, Aug ’15 U.S. dry whey production increased YOY for the seventh time in the past eight months. Dry whey production of 83.9 million pounds finished 18.1% above the previous year, a five month high on a percentage basis. Combined whey protein concentrate (WPC) and whey protein isolate (WPI) production remained lower on a YOY basis, declining by 4.6% YOY. Combined WPC and WPI production increased by 18.3% YOY throughout the ’13-’14 production season but has dropped below last year’s levels throughout the first 11 months of the ’14-’15 production season, down 2.7% YTD. ’14-’15 YTD dry whey production is up 6.4% YOY, with total combined dry whey, WPC and WPI production up 2.7% YOY through August. NFDM/SMP – Combined Production Declines YOY for Fourth Consecutive Month Aug ’15 U.S. NFDM production of 124.4 million pounds increased YOY for the 18th time in the past 19 months, finishing 6.7% above the previous year. NFDM production did, however, decline seasonally MOM on a daily average basis, falling by 20.1%. SMP, which is more suited to the requirements of most global markets, decreased YOY for the 14th time in the past 15 months, with production of 39.3 million pounds declining by 27.2%. Overall, Aug ’15 combined production of NFDM and SMP declined YOY for the fourth consecutive month, falling 4.0%. The past four YOY declines in combined production were for the first experienced in the past 18 months. ’14-’15 YTD combined U.S. NFDM and SMP production remains up 4.4% through the first 11 months of the production season. See the table below for a summary of key U.S. dairy product production in Aug ’15.