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) member cooperatives accepted 10 offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 1.116 million pounds (506 metric tons) of Cheddar, and Gouda cheese and 4.242 million pounds (1,924 metric tons) of whole milk powder. These products are going to customers in Asia, the Middle East, and South America. The product will be delivered during the period from March through July 2019.

CWT-assisted member cooperative 2019 export sales total 12.844 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 707,684 pounds of butter (82% milkfat) and 6.490 million pounds of whole milk powder to 18 countries in six regions. These sales are the equivalent of 181.9 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively affects all U.S. dairy farmers and all dairy cooperatives by strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact their milk price. It does this by helping member cooperatives gain and maintain world market share for U.S dairy products. As a result, the program has significantly expanded the total demand for U.S. dairy products and the demand for U.S. farm milk that produces those products.

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

All dairy farmers and all dairy cooperatives should invest in CWT. Membership information is available on the CWT website.

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.