It’s been a big year for butter. Over the last several months there has been a large uptick in home baking and cooking and that has caused butter consumption to rise.
According to United States Department of Agriculture, butter production has risen 6% over the first nine months of the year and is on track to top 2 billion pounds for the first time since 1943.
One dairy cooperative taking advantage of the boom is Land O’ Lakes. According to a company statement, net earnings rose during the third quarter of this year largely due to a surge in retail butter sales. Additionally, CEO Beth Ford says she expects butter sales to increase more than 20% for the entire year.
It’s also believed that butter sales are higher these days thanks to its clean label. It has a minimal list of ingredients compared to margarine and other butter substitutes.
Milk Production Continues to Rise
Milk production in the country is continuing to rise.
The United States Department of Agriculture reported during its latest production report that production totaled more than 18.6-billion pounds, rising 2.3% year-over-year.
Milk production per cow was slightly higher last month. The number of milk cows on farms in the U.S. was 9.4 million head. That’s 43,000 head more than October last year and 14,000 more head than last month.
