That would be very costly to the processor. Second, it takes a little longer for cheese processors to get their money from Uncle Sam than from commercial sales. Well, there could be a slight difference in quality as discussed earlier. Cheese going to aging programs need to be drier than fresh cheese. Second, it now costs more to ship cheese from surplus sources in the West to say Chicago.
Someone has to pay the higher fuel bill.
Third, not every Western plant is qualified to sell to the USDA under the dairy price support program. Fourth, there is a lot of cheese in the West right now, and more to come. Thus, they may be discounting cheese just to get rid of it. The good news is that demand for process cheese should be showing strength in the weeks ahead as folks begin to have more cookouts and as food service demand picks up. Butter prices are showing continued stability this week.