Butter prices received for 25-kilogram and 68-pound boxes meeting USDA Grade AA standards averaged $1.59 per pound. The U.S. price per pound decreased 0.3 cents.

Rabobank says the global dairy market will offer strong growth prospects in the coming five years.  Nestle and Danone will fare well, and cheese makers will  improve  their returns.

A Kraft Foods executive says, "We're waging war on waste, one plant at a time." The cheese and snacks maker has 36 facilities in 13 countries that send zero waste to landfill.

The new standards for school meals announced Wednesday by First Lady Michelle Obama and Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack standards for the first time in more than 15 years and are said to improve the health and nutrition of nearly 32 million children that participate in school meal programs every school day.

Milk production in the 23 major milk-producing states during December totaled 15.4 billion pounds, up 2.7% from December 2010,

A Dean Foods sweepstakes offers a grand prize of $25,000, and the winner can select a school or charity to receive $5,000.