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 22 offers of export assistance from CWT that helped them capture sales contracts for 1.371 million pounds (622 metric tons) of Cheddar, Gouda, and Monterey Jack cheese; 252,980 pounds (115 metric tons) of butter; and 456,357 pounds (207 metric tons) of cream cheese. The product is going to customers in Europe and Asia and will be delivered from May through August 2020.

CWT-assisted member cooperative export sales contracts for 2020 total 19.581 million pounds of American-type cheeses, 6.056 million pounds of butter (82% milkfat), 1.960 million pounds of anhydrous milkfat, 2.933 million pounds of cream cheese and 16.797 million pounds of whole milk powder. The product is going to 28 countries in seven regions. These sales are the equivalent of 516 million pounds of milk on a milkfat basis.

Assisting CWT members in moving dairy products overseas through the Export Assistance program is critical during the challenging times U.S. dairy farmers and cooperatives are facing. The Export Assistance program helps in strengthening and maintaining the value of dairy products that directly impact producers’ milk price. The program is helping member cooperatives grow and maintain world market share for U.S dairy products and is a significant factor in maintaining the total demand for U.S. dairy products and the demand for U.S. farm milk.

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

All dairy farmers and 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