USDA Dairy Product Sales Report (NDPSR)
Example: A pizzeria watching its mozzarella and butter costs climb checks the weekly NDPSR; cheddar and butter prices there are flat, which tells the owner the increase is coming from the distributor's markup or freight, not the underlying commodity.
the weekly U.S. dairy price benchmark
A weekly U.S. federal survey that collects actual sales prices and volumes for a handful of benchmark commodity dairy products — butter, cheddar cheese, dry whey, and nonfat dry milk. Those prices underpin the federal milk pricing system, and they’re public, free, and published on a fixed weekly schedule. The Cost Index uses NDPSR as its wholesale source for dairy.
Why it matters
It’s the closest thing to a public, transaction-based price for commodity dairy — not an opinion or a phoned-in quote, but what was actually bought and sold that week. When your cheese or butter cost moves, NDPSR shows whether the commodity behind it moved too, or whether the change is happening somewhere between the plant and your invoice.
Frequently asked
What is the USDA Dairy Product Sales Report?
It's a weekly U.S. federal survey, run by USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, that collects actual sales prices and volumes for a handful of benchmark commodity dairy products: butter, cheddar cheese, dry whey, and nonfat dry milk. It's public, free, and published on a fixed weekly schedule. The Cost Index uses it as the wholesale source for dairy.
Which products does NDPSR cover?
A deliberately small set of benchmark commodity dairy products — butter, cheddar cheese, dry whey, and nonfat dry milk. It isn't a price for every cheese or every cut of dairy; it's the commodity layer underneath them, which is exactly why it works as a clean wholesale reference.
Why does NDPSR matter for a restaurant's costs?
It's the closest thing to a public, transaction-based price for commodity dairy — what was actually bought and sold that week, not an opinion or a phoned-in quote. When your butter or cheese cost moves, NDPSR shows whether the commodity behind it moved too, or whether the change is happening between the plant and your invoice. Its prices also underpin the federal milk pricing system, so they shape dairy costs broadly.
- BLS (Bureau of Labor Statistics) — the U.S. price, wage & jobs statistics agency
- USDA Market News — USDA’s public market-price reports
- USDA Livestock Mandatory Reporting (LMR) — mandatory packer price reporting to USDA
- FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) — the public front door to U.S. economic data
- EIA (U.S. Energy Information Administration) — the U.S. federal energy-statistics agency
- NOAA Fisheries — the U.S. ocean-fisheries & landings agency
Browse all
171 terms.
Plain-English definitions for every term in your audit, organized by category.