For more than a decade, Americans have been steadily drinking less milk each year.
But the latest federal data show sales of milk beverages turned around in 2024, increasing by 358 million pounds or just under 1 percentage point from the previous year to 43.2 billion pounds.
It’s the result of a resurgence in sales of whole milk, which have been trending upward since 2014. The category saw a 3% increase from 2023 and helped offset the continued declines in most other categories, including reduced-fat and skim milk.
Whole milk has benefited from the diet craze around protein driven largely by health and fitness influencers, said Leonard Polzin, dairy markets and policy outreach specialist for the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Division of Extension.
“The more protein, the better. Consumers are all about that,” Polzin said. “The other portion is kind of a shift towards healthy fats too. So for example, cottage cheese is having a real moment right now.”
Industry data shows whole milk consumption is up in both households with children and those without, according to Karen Gefvert, chief policy officer for Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, which represents farmers in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Gefvert said whole milk has also benefited from increasing consumer interest in whole foods and foods that are minimally processed – a trend that has been promoted by the Trump administration’s Make America Healthy Again agenda.
“There are a ton of really great things in whole milk, and I think that’s resonating with consumers,” Gefvert said.
Federal data going back to 1975 show total U.S. milk sales peaked in 2009 at more than 55.4 billion pounds. That total steadily declined to a record low of 42.8 billion pounds in 2023.
Consumption of plant-based milk alternatives has declined in recent years. But Polzin said it’s hard to know if those consumers are making the shift to dairy or simply cutting back on drinking milk of any kind.
Polzin said increasing milk consumption is especially good for dairy farmers. That’s because milk sold as beverages, known in the industry as fluid milk, has a greater impact on the prices paid to farmers.
But Gefvert said this effect is not as prominent in states like Wisconsin, where most milk is processed into cheese and other products. She said most farmers in the state have a more subdued take on last year’s sales increase.
“It was not significant and is likely just sort of a pause in the inevitable continuous decline in fluid milk sales,” Gefvert said.
She said there is hope that whole milk sales in particular will continue to increase. Congress recently passed federal legislation to reintroduce the option to the National School Lunch Program, which currently requires schools to offer low-fat or skim milk to students. The Whole Milk for Health Kids Act is expected to be signed by President Trump.
Medical experts are divided on whether full fat dairy options, which contain high levels of saturated fat, negatively affect human health.
Earlier this year, a scientific panel that advises the federal government on dietary guidelines concluded there wasn’t enough evidence to change the existing guidance, which recommends Americans drink low-fat or skim rather than whole milk.
This story was produced in partnership with Harvest Public Media, a collaboration of public media newsrooms in the Midwest and Great Plains. It reports on food systems, agriculture and rural issues.
