Cheddar Cheese Prices National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released January 2, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Cheddar Cheese Prices" call Greg Thessen at (202) 690-3347, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Barrel Prices Decline 1.0 Cents Prices received for 500 lb. Barrel Cheddar cheese decreased 1.0 cents per lb. for the week ending December 26, 1997. Block prices decreased 0.6 cents per pound. This is the fourth consecutive week that the US 40 lb. block price has averaged greater than $1.41 per lb. Data Reliability: The survey collects price information on sales of natural, unaged, Cheddar cheese at the first (wholesale) point of sale. Data are recorded for sales transactions completed during the survey week. A transaction is considered complete when cheese is shipped out or title transfers. The 65 plants reporting account for an estimated 85 percent of natural Cheddar cheese sales. Estimates for only the current month are subject to revision. Only electronic subscriptions are available for this report. Print copies are available at USDA, Room 5829, SO. Bldg. This report is also available on autofax at (202) 720-2000. For Internet access, go to the NASS Home Page at: http://www.usda.gov/nass/. Cheddar Cheese Prices by Style and Region -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Week Ending Style and Region :----------------------------------------------------------- : Dec 26, : Dec 19, : Dec 12, : Dec 5, : Nov 28, : 1997 : 1997 1/ : 1997 : 1997 : 1997 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dol./Lb. 40 Lb. Blocks : Avg. Price 2/ : MN/WI : 1.4413 1.4670 1.4586 1.4494 1.4503 West 3/ : 1.4083 1.4112 1.4001 1.3983 1.3723 US 4/ : 1.4157 1.4217 1.4141 1.4135 1.3875 : : Pounds Sales Volume 5/ : MN/WI : 793,693 1,013,256 855,082 1,507,475 828,482 West 3/ : 3,371,747 4,806,884 3,978,541 4,597,908 4,097,647 US 4/ : 4,218,689 5,900,193 5,228,557 6,489,190 5,182,197 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dol./Lb. 640 Lb. Blocks : Avg. Price 2/ : US : 1.4414 1.4424 1.4327 1.4210 1.4047 : : Pounds Sales Volume 5/ : US : 1,124,196 1,274,528 963,174 1,723,836 970,098 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dol./Lb. 500 Lb. Barrels : Avg. Price 2/ : MN/WI : 1.3743 1.3779 1.3862 1.4008 1.4018 Oth : 1.3462 1.3654 1.3761 1.3833 1.4011 US : 1.3592 1.3702 1.3801 1.3906 1.4014 : Price Adj. to : 39% Moisture : MN/WI : 1.2816 1.2921 1.3056 1.3176 1.3299 Oth : 1.2475 1.2620 1.2685 1.2783 1.2973 US : 1.2632 1.2734 1.2830 1.2944 1.3093 : : Pounds Sales Volume 5/ : MN/WI : 3,708,440 3,451,523 3,635,541 3,259,798 2,463,899 Oth : 4,320,676 5,638,084 5,550,584 4,618,128 4,148,900 US : 8,029,116 9,089,607 9,186,125 7,877,926 6,612,799 : : Percent Moisture Content : MN/WI : 34.59 34.95 35.23 35.15 35.70 Oth : 34.17 34.00 33.83 33.99 34.12 US : 34.36 34.36 34.39 34.47 34.71 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Revised. 2/ Prices weighted by volumes reported. 3/ CA, ID, OR, and WA. 4/ "Other Regions" included in U.S. total. 5/ Sales as reported by cooperating manufacturers.