February 19, 2008

US milk output rises in January

The total output of 23 major dairy states in the US rose 2.4 percent from 2007 to 14.6 billion pounds in January, the USDA reported.

The figure was also 2.8 percent higher than the previous month's 14.4 billion pounds.

USDA confirmed Friday that annual production of milk for the US on 2007 was 186 billion pounds, 2.1 percent above 2006.

California still has the highest total production in the US with about 3.4 billion pounds.

Wisconsin dairy farmers produced 2.05 billion pounds of milk in January, up one percent over last year, and slightly more than December's output.

Meanwhile, Colorado recorded the highest percent increase for the month as that state produced 233 million pounds of milk, 9.4 percent over year-ago totals.

The number of milk cows on farms in the 23 major states was 8.40 million head, 120,000 head more than January 2007, and 15,000 head more than December 2007, the USDA said.

Wisconsin has around 1.25 million head of dairy cattle during the month, with annual total production averaging 1,640 pounds per cow, which was 10 pounds more than last year's average.

The national per-cow average was up 17 pounds at 1,743 pounds per animal.