# Over 60% of dairy fat goes to cheese, butter

> In 2021, cheese absorbed 42.1% of US dairy fat and butter took 18.3%, a combined 60.5%. Beverage milk's share fell to 10.6%, the lowest in about 20 years. Total US dairy fat production rose to 9.3 billion pounds.

- Date: 2022-12-12 · published 2022-12-12T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/38261-over-60-of-dairy-fat-goes-to-cheese-butter
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

Growing butterfat output going mainly into cheese and butter reflects the structural shift away from fluid milk, which shapes where milk fat demand and prices are concentrated.

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2023-05-25 | [EU27 cheese gains at expense of butter, says USDA FAS - Dairy Industries International](https://feedsoft.ai/events/35963-eu27-cheese-gains-at-expense-of-butter-says-usda-fas-dairy-industries.md) | -3.5% | -7.8% |
| MILK | 2017-12-20 | [Butter and cheese continue their upward trend as the world demands more dairy fat: USDA](https://feedsoft.ai/events/67494-butter-and-cheese-continue-their-upward-trend-as-the-world-demands-more-dairy.md) | -0.1% | -10.1% |
| MILK | 2025-07-12 | [Cheese production continues to grow - Dairy Star](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23757-cheese-production-continues-to-grow-dairy-star.md) | +0.5% | -0.0% |
| MILK | 2020-01-31 | [Two thirds of EU milk used to make cheese and butter - Products Eurostat News - Eurostat](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55102-two-thirds-of-eu-milk-used-to-make-cheese-and-butter-products-eurostat-news.md) | -0.5% | -0.4% |
| MILK | 2025-12-30 | [Dairy Markets Face Winter Blues: Will Inventory Data Spark Demand for Butter, Cheese and Cream? - Dairy Herd](https://feedsoft.ai/events/9574-dairy-markets-face-winter-blues-will-inventory-data-spark-demand-for-butter.md) | -4.9% | -7.2% |

## Sources

- hoards.com: https://hoards.com/article-32959-over-60-of-dairy-fat-goes-to-cheese-butter.html

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