Protein has begun to outpace butterfat
- ZISK
- May 4
- 1 min read
Butterfat has long been the driver of the U.S. dairy industry. The processing sector balanced for the milk component meaning we kept nearly all our butterfat for the domestic market and exported skims solids – largely dairy proteins, permeate, and lactose – to international customers. That scenario has begun to shift.
Last year we experienced a structural shift in the American dairy industry as U.S. dairy farmers continued to produce more butterfat. As a result, the U.S. exported 269 million pounds of butter and anhydrous milkfat. That was up a whopping 171% over the 99 million pounds exported in 2024.
On top of that, cheese, the largest product category for butterfat usage, experienced export growth of 200 million pounds that represented 18% sales growth last year. These shifting export market dynamics haven’t factored in the U.S. consumers’ insatiable appetite for protein with whey protein isolates, whey protein concentrate, milk protein concentrate, and nonfat dry milk all pushing record highs.
May 4, 2025
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