While nonfat dry whey prices continue to drop, several processors are examining why and how soon the markets could pick back up. According to a Jan. 6 blog from the U.S. Dairy Export Council (USDEC), total whey exports were just 30,308 tons, marking the lowest export amount since July 2010.
Wisconsin ranks first in the U.S. for whey exports, and more than 16,300 jobs in the state are directly related to whey production and processing. Several Wisconsin processors recently shared with the Wisconsin State Journal how they're riding out the low prices and handling the excess whey.
“We’re in this thing for the long term. This is just a cycle we’re going to ride out,” said Doug Wilke, senior vice president for the dairy ingredients division of Baraboo-based Foremost Farms USA, which is one of the state’s largest whey producers.
One reason for the drop was a mass exiting of Chinese hog farmers from the business. The hogs had been a major consumer of U.S. whey.
As processors have adapted to the change, one solution has been a different formulation of the products offered. According to an August 2015 USDEC report, the value of U.S. whey achieved a 73 percent increase because of a product mix that accounted for higher protein and higher value.
Read the full article from the Wisconsin State Journal. PD
—Summarized by Progressive Dairyman staff from cited sources
