The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted 11 requests for export assistance from Bongards Creamery, Dairy Farmers of America and Northwest Dairy Association (Darigold). These cooperatives have contracts to sell 1.601 million pounds (726 metric tons) of Cheddar, Gouda and Monterey Jack cheese to customers in Asia and the Middle East. The product has been contracted for delivery in the period from August through November 2017.

So far this year, CWT has assisted member cooperatives who have contracts to sell 46.988 million pounds of American-type cheeses and 3.013 million pounds of butter (82% milkfat) to 18 countries on five continents. The sales are the equivalent of 501.485 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program in the long term helps member cooperatives gain and maintain market share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and the U.S. farm milk that produces them. This, in turn, positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price.

The amounts of dairy products and related milk volumes reflect current contracts for delivery, not completed export volumes. CWT will pay export assistance to the bidders only when export and delivery of the product is verified by the submission of the required documentation.

The Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) Export Assistance program is funded by voluntary contributions from dairy cooperatives and individual dairy farmers. The money raised by their investment is being used to strengthen and stabilize the dairy farmers’ milk prices and margins. For more information about CWT, visit www.cwt.coop.