The Cheese Caves of the United States

Learn Something New took a look at the cheese caves of the United States, noting how a surplus dairy product has been the subject of much debate throughout the decades.

There are thousands of red, orange, and yellow barrels lining the floor, each one weighing 680 pounds and filled to the brim with dairy products.

The varying price of dairy throughout different Presidential administrations led to many grievances, overages, and programs; however, much of the cheese dairy farmers were encouraged to produce went rotten. The government stepped in for a while but more recently turned dairy administration to private companies. This changeover led to the cheese caves.

The United States government finally got out of the cheese storing business in the 1990s when dairy prices started to calm down. Flash forward to 2019 when the U.S. again found itself storing cheese this time to the tune of 1.4 billion pounds, yet it was not the government storing it. It is almost entirely owned by private companies now.

Caves can be found all over the US, provided they have the right environment.

The cheese caves of the United States require a strict 36 degrees. ...These limestone caves in Springfield, MO are home to the US's largest stockpile of its 1.4 billion-pound surplus of cheese, but the path that led to how the cheese caves came to be may surprise you.

via Nag on the Lake