The U.S. dairy industry is experiencing lower-than-usual commodity cheese prices, but one producer is betting on long-term growth driven by consumer demand for protein and significant industry investment.

The current market is seeing prices dip despite the typical holiday season rally. Kim Heiman of Nasonville Dairy in Marshfield says the effect was exacerbated by the government shutdown, when the commodity cheese trade didn't have market transparency. 

"What happens is that commodity cheese, it's a very high-quality cheese, and it's generally a colored cheddar, and it's produced at large quantities, and it's marketed through the Chicago Mercantile Exchange at large volumes," Heiman tells Mid-West Farm Report. "When the government shutdown was on, of course, there was no commodity facts coming out of how much cheese was in storage or how much cheese was being processed."