# USDA Lowers 2026 Milk Production, Cheese And Butter Price Forecasts - Cheese Reporter

> USDA's December WASDE lowered its 2026 U.S. milk production forecast by 200 million pounds to 234.1 billion pounds because of lower cow inventories. It also cut 2026 cheese and butter price forecasts, while raising the dry whey forecast.

- Date: 2025-12-10 · published 2025-12-10T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/21493-usda-lowers-2026-milk-production-cheese-and-butter-price-forecasts-cheese
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

Lower projected cheese and butter prices reduce milk value, while firmer whey supports dairy protein demand for feed ingredients.

## Read by commodity

- MILK: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2026-10-09 | [USDA Lowers 2026, 2027 Milk Production Forecasts; Price Forecasts Mixed - Cheese Reporter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17113-usda-lowers-2026-2027-milk-production-forecasts-price-forecasts-mixed-cheese.md) | +1.5% | +14.9% |
| MILK | 2026-07-10 | [USDA Raises 2026, 2027 Milk Production Forecasts, Lowers Most Price Forecasts - Cheese Reporter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18336-usda-raises-2026-2027-milk-production-forecasts-lowers-most-price-forecasts.md) | +0.4% | +6.4% |
| MILK | 2025-04-11 | [USDA Hikes 2025 Milk Production Forecast, Lowers Dairy Product Price Forecasts - Cheese Reporter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/25122-usda-hikes-2025-milk-production-forecast-lowers-dairy-product-price-forecasts.md) | +0.8% | +6.8% |
| MILK | 2025-11-14 | [USDA Hikes 2025, 2026 Milk Production Forecasts, Lowers Most Dairy Product Price Forecasts - Cheese Reporter](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21954-usda-hikes-2025-2026-milk-production-forecasts-lowers-most-dairy-product-price.md) | +0.1% | -7.6% |
| MILK | 2022-05-14 | [USDA Ups 2022 Milk Production, Cheese & Butter Price Forecasts](https://feedsoft.ai/events/41410-usda-ups-2022-milk-production-cheese-and-butter-price-forecasts.md) | +0.5% | -2.7% |

## Sources

- cheesereporter.com: https://cheesereporter.com/news/2025/12/10/usda-lowers-2026-milk-production-cheese-and-butter-price-forecasts/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.