Cheddar Cheese Prices National Agricultural Statistics Service USDA Washington, D.C. Released February 20, 1998, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Cheddar Cheese Prices" call Shawn Clark at (202) 720-4448, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. Barrel and Block Prices Increase Prices received for 500 lb. Barrel Cheddar cheese increased 0.8 cents per lb. for the week ending February 13, 1998. Block prices increased 0.6 cents per pound. This is the eleventh 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 :----------------------------------------------------------- : Feb 13, : Feb 6, : Jan 30, : Jan 23, : Jan 16, : 1998 : 1998 1/ : 1998 : 1998 : 1998 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dol./Lb. 40 Lb. Blocks : Avg. Price 2/ : MN/WI : 1.4534 1.4603 1.4494 1.4533 1.4456 West 3/ : 1.4090 1.4017 1.4088 1.4091 1.3954 US 4/ : 1.4190 1.4129 1.4209 1.4183 1.4118 : : Pounds Sales Volume 5/ : MN/WI : 1,044,344 702,021 1,461,836 1,005,671 1,739,721 West 3/ : 4,640,566 3,992,998 4,427,277 4,998,310 4,736,284 US 4/ : 5,900,764 4,867,002 6,349,082 6,144,943 6,712,386 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dol./Lb. 640 Lb. Blocks : Avg. Price 2/ : US : 1.4218 1.4296 1.4221 1.4401 1.4346 : : Pounds Sales Volume 5/ : US : 2,850,621 1,751,462 1,974,338 1,260,762 917,126 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Dol./Lb. 500 Lb. Barrels : Avg. Price 2/ : MN/WI : 1.5140 1.5060 1.4777 1.4566 1.3940 Oth : 1.5017 1.4882 1.4584 1.4100 1.3824 US : 1.5066 1.4958 1.4677 1.4315 1.3882 : Price Adj. to : 39% Moisture : MN/WI : 1.4139 1.4090 1.3861 1.3572 1.3129 Oth : 1.3899 1.3785 1.3543 1.3075 1.2842 US : 1.3994 1.3915 1.3694 1.3304 1.2984 : : Pounds Sales Volume 5/ : MN/WI : 3,285,039 3,410,822 4,282,290 4,291,527 5,233,381 Oth : 5,027,708 4,551,160 4,655,033 4,998,101 5,240,929 US : 8,312,747 7,961,982 8,937,323 9,289,628 10,474,310 : : Percent Moisture Content : MN/WI : 34.68 34.80 34.97 34.53 35.23 Oth : 34.10 34.15 34.31 34.22 34.34 US : 34.33 34.43 34.62 34.36 34.78 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.