Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) has accepted nine requests for export assistance from Dairy Farmers of America, Darigold, Foremost Farms, Land O'Lakes and United Dairymen of Arizona to sell 2.262 million pounds (1,026 metric tons) of Cheddar, Gouda and Monterey Jack cheese and 330,693 pounds (150 metric tons) of butter to customers in Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and the South Pacific. The product will be delivered October 2012 through March 2013.
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In 2012, CWT has assisted member cooperatives in making export sales of Cheddar, Monterey Jack and Gouda cheese totaling 102 million pounds, butter totaling 58.7 million pounds and anhydrous milk fat totaling 127,868 pounds. The product has been sent to 34 countries on four continents. On a butterfat basis, the milk equivalent of these exports is 2.225 billion pounds, or the equivalent of 60% of the increase in U.S. milk production through September.

Assisting CWT members through the Export Assistance program positively impacts producer milk prices in the short-term by helping to maintain inventories of cheese and butter at desirable levels. In the long-term, CWT's Export Assistance program helps member cooperatives gain and maintain market share, thus expanding the demand for U.S. dairy products and the farm milk that produces them.

CWT will pay export bonuses to the bidders only when 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.

10.23.2012