Dairy Week In Review

Total milk production in the US increased 1.8 percent year over year to 19.75 billion pounds in March, with the nation’s dairy herd growing by 77,000 head since last March. Cow numbers are up 8,000 head in the past month to reach 9.468 million head nationwide. Milk production per cow was also up from a year ago, increasing 20 pounds or 0.9 percent to 2,086 pounds for the month. Seven out of the eight top producing dairy states showed milk production growth, with California up 1.5 percent, Wisconsin up 3.7 percent, Idaho up 0.8 percent, New York up 0.5 percent, Texas up 3.9 percent, Michigan up 3.5 percent, and Minnesota up 7.6 percent. Pennsylvania fell short, though, with milk production in the Commonwealth falling 1.5 percent year over year to 893  million pounds. Cow numbers were down 10,000 head in Pennsylvania, while milk production per cow was up 10 pounds or 0.5 percent. Read More