WASHINGTON (WTAQ) - Wisconsin cheesemakers got some good news from Washington Thursday, as new government figures pointed to a stronger demand for their products.

The USDA’s monthly Cold Storage Report said total cheese stocks were down 5 percent in February, compared to a year ago. The total stocks were just over 987 million pounds, and stocks for American cheeses were down 2 percent from the year before.

The government said earlier this week that the nation’s milk production was up 8 percent last month – and the lack of a corresponding increase in cheese stocks means that more of it’s flying off the store shelves.

That’s especially good news for Wisconsin, which remains the nation’s Number 1 cheese producer.