Several reports from last week are telling us that McDonald’s is making the shift from margarine to butter on their McMuffins, bagels and biscuits. This change comes shortly after the company beefed up the precooked weight of their Quarter Pounder hamburger by 0.25 ounces.

The shift to butter will occur once current stocks of liquid margarine are depleted. At least some U.S. franchises have signs displaying “We’re proud to cook breakfast items on the grill with real butter, and we toast our English Muffins, biscuits and bagels with real butter, too.”

In addition to the butter shift, McDonald’s will offer select breakfast menu items, including Egg McMuffins, throughout the day. Previously, breakfast items were only served until 10:30 a.m. Early estimates suggest the company and its suppliers could use between 22 and 27 million pounds of butter in the first year.

The larger Quarter Pounder beef patty was initiated earlier this summer. It changed from 4 ounces before cooking to 4.25 ounces before cooking.

Though beef and dairy producers have to be lovin’ it from a market perspective, there should also be the realization that beef and dairy products are simply value added products from . . . you guessed it . . . forage crops.