Rising dairy prices and what can we do about it?

So, on the news this week it was mentioned that dairy prices will continue their upward climb. Aside from acquiring a cow or goat, what can we do to mitigate these rising prices on milk, cheese, butter and cream? Let's put our heads together and see what suggestions come forth. Here's what I intend to do:

Butter

• continue using meat fat for sauteing and making gravy. 
• I make Yorkshire pudding often to go with soup suppers, so I will now try using some leftover meat fat in place of the oil called for in the recipe. (This doesn't save butter, but spares oil to use in recipes that will save butter.) 
• I sauteed summer squash in chicken fat the other night and one daughter asked if I used butter. She thought it tasted amazing. 
• The same daughter asked me if we could use meat fat on toast. I reminded her of the Little House books, where Laura's family used salt pork fat on toast, when their butter ran out. My daughter and I agreed that bacon fat might be good on toast. 
• I made a savory cornbread on Tuesday, "buttering" the pan with chicken fat, and using chicken fat in place of a butter/oil mix I usually use in the batter. Very good!
• I think I will also try doing eggs for frittatas and omelets in saved fat.
• I'll switch to meat fat when buttering dishes for savory casseroles.
• continue to make butter/oil spread, to stretch the butter that we use for buttering toast and bread.
• What's the regular price on butter in your area these days? It was about $4.50/lb yesterday at the market. Meanwhile, margarine was on sale for 89 cents/lb. I'm reluctant to go back to margarine, as we avoid trans fats/hydrogenated oils when possible (except Crisco for pie pastry -- makes great pie crust, but maybe I'll consider lard). How do you feel about margarine vs. butter?

Milk

• continue shopping for markdowns on milk
• regularly compare powdered milk prices to liquid milk 
• Is powdered milk less per gallon for anyone right now? Every 6 months or so, I compare the price per gallon on non-instant in 55 lb sacks (cheaper than instant per gallon for me) to liquid milk. Back in the 90s a 55 lb bag of non-instant milk was cheaper than liquid milk. That could be the case again this next year.

Cheese

• Buy more when I find it on sale. The cash and carry restaurant supply has mozzarella on sale shredded in 5-lb bags for $11.98. I had intended to buy 2 bags, but after hearing this week's dairy price forecast, I switched to 3 bags. I'll be watching for bags of cheddar at the same price. Bags of shredded cheese freeze well, so there should be no problem of mold with stocking up so much.
• Use cream cheese more often in sandwiches. Over the weekend, I made a simple chive and cream cheese spread for lunch one day. Cream cheese often goes on sale around the fall/winyer holidays and again at Easter, for as little as 88cents/ 8 oz block, but usually right around $1/8 oz. This works out to $1.76/lb to $2.00/lb, less than hard cheese prices by about 50 cents per pound for me. And cream cheese keeps much longer in the fridge, unopened than the sell-by date.
• Does anyone here freeze cream cheese? I've never tried freezing it, but have heard the texture changes a bit. I'd like to hear of other's experiences with freezing this. Also, can sour cream or cottage cheese be frozen successfully? I sometimes find both of these items marked down because the container is squashed.  And how about freezing block cheese to use on sandwiches later? I freeze the shredded and it works as a melting cheese just fine, but want to know if block cheese gets crumbly when you freeze it, and perhaps it could be frozen in slices?

Cream

• Buying cream when on markdown will be my best money-saving strategy. Whipping cream can be whipped and frozen in mounds, to use later. I have a few frozen mounds of whipped cream in the freezer from last spring. If possible, I'll save these for Thanksgiving. Then hope to find whipping cream on markdown just after Thanksgiving for Christmas and New Year's. 
• Non-dairy whipped topping is also always an option, and often goes on sale just before the holidays.
• Has anyone here ever tried the homemade whipped topping recipe that uses gelatin and powdered milk? That's a possibility, too, and non-hydrogenated (healthier than some non-dairy whipped toppings?), calling for gelatin, dry milk, sugar, oil and water. If I try it this fall, I'll let you know what we my family thinks.

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