Dairy Pricing Association making humanitarian cheese purchases

141,330 pounds of cheddar cheese is arriving at food pantries throughout the United States in an effort to boost class III milk prices while filling the kitchens of needy families across the country.

Dairy Pricing Association (DPA), a Capper-Volstead cooperative based in Taylor, Wis., purchased $234,527.14 in 40-pound cheddar cheese blocks for for distribution to Feeding America in Madison, Wis., Catholic Charities in Alexandria, Va., and Ruby’s Pantry in North Branch, Minn., beginning three weeks ago. These purchases equate to 28 loads of raw milk now removed from the market, according to DPA.

“Dairy Pricing Association has a history of providing dairy products to victims of natural disasters whenever possible, so we have asked Feeding America to target their load to those affected by Hurricane Florence near Raleigh, N.C.,” said Dairy Pricing Association advisory board member and Missouri dairy farmer Derek England.

The motive behind these purchases is to create demand by disappearance while raising the price of block cheese, which generally correlates with class III milk prices, by asking a higher price per pound than what blocks are currently trading for publicly.

DPA is also circulating a petition asking USDA secretary Sonny Perdue to amend the Dairy Product Stabilization act of 1983 to include a $0.02/cwt. voluntary deduction from national checkoff funds to support DPA’s efforts to purchase more dairy products to feed families in need while stabilizing dairy markets. For more information about Dairy Pricing Association and further updates, visit their website at dairypricing.org, call (715) 284-2590, or follow them on Facebook.