Although the US National Milk Producers Federation said it is appreciative of the effort, the plan falls well short of its request for the purchase of $150m (€136.5m).

A statement by USDA said: “Today’s announcement offering to purchase up to $20 million of cheese will provide assistance to American dairy farmers through increased demand for milk, while also serving the needs of Americans who patronize food banks and other charitable organisations.”

Wisconsin milk producer Tom Crave had a different view. “I think we have to look at the world market and try to continue to market our cheese through private means and not depend on government to buy up our stocks," he said. "The private buyers of cheese and the marketers know the government holds cheese, and that plays into the equation when they bid on cheese products.”

He went on to say: “It won’t make any dent because we have over a billion pounds (454,545t) of cheese in inventory.”

Read more

Butter into private storage dries up

Dairy trends: has the growth in whole milk powder prices crested?