America has too much cheese. That may not sound like much of a problem, but the record 1.4-billion-pound surplus sitting in warehouses across the country—enough to create a wheel the size of the U.S. Capitol—is starting to affect the economy. How did we stockpile so much? In recent years, farms have increased production of milk, even as Americans drink less of it (149 pounds per capita in 2017, down from 247 in 1975). The extra milk is often turned into cheese because it stays fresh longer. And even though we’re eating more cheese than ever—nearly 37 pounds per capita in 2017—there are still leftovers. The glut contributed to the closure of more than 600 Wisconsin dairy farms in 2018, but the cheese is still coming, and there isn’t much farmers can do until demand picks up. As Idaho Dairymen’s Association CEO Rick Naerebout told the Idaho Press, “It’s not like you can tell [a cow], ‘Hey, milk prices are low, quit producing milk.’ ”