Louie Villalobos

The Arizona Republic

PHOENIX — The federal government has announced a plan to buy literally all the extra cheese.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture said Tuesday that the feds will purchase about 11 million pounds of cheese for "private inventories." Before you get in line, though, know that basically this means the cheese will be given to food banks and charity groups.

"The purchase will provide families in need across the country," the USDA said in a press release.

The surplus cheese is valued at $20 million. That's mad cheese.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the country's dairy farmers are having problems getting rid of the cheese because of "market conditions." He said the cheese surplus is at a 30-year high.

The decision comes after the USDA received requests from Congress, the National Farmers Union, the American Farm Bureau and the National Milk Producers Federation, according to the USDA press release.