With this year’s USDA report on per-capita U.S. dairy consumption, the industry has finally moved past the 1960s. In terms of favor with the American public, dairy has returned to 1959.
Sound strange?
It’s true.
The USDA’s annual report on per-capita U.S. dairy consumption released Friday, September 30, saw an emphatic rise in domestic dairy demand, going from 655 pounds per person in 2020 to 667 pounds per person last year. That’s a level of dairy popularity that surpasses 1960, when it was 659 pounds, and is approaching 1959’s consumer appeal of 672 pounds.
In other words, the last time Americans wanted as much dairy as they do today, Elvis was in the Army. And keep in mind, the 1959 population of the United States. then was only slightly more than half of what it is now. And exports, which now take up nearly 20% of domestic production, barely existed back in those days.
So, what does this say about the industry?
What it doesn’t say is that Americans are consuming dairy the same way now as they did then. Fluid milk has continued its slow decline, according to the USDA data. But cheese continues to rise – American-style cheese consumption reached another record last year. And butter – well, butter actually is returning to Eisenhower-era levels, so in that case, a “Back to the Future” comparison may be appropriate.
