June 18, 2004

US Milk Production Falls Slightly In May

State and national milk production figures for May were down by less than one percent compared to the same month in 2003. The USDA announced that production for the 20 major dairy states fell 0.9 percent from last year at 12.6 billion pounds, which was also fractionally below April's output.

Wisconsin dairy farmers produced 1.92 billion pounds of milk--slightly lower than last year, but was higher than last month's 1.86 billion pounds.

California continues to have the highest total production with about 3.15 billion pounds. Texas recorded the highest percent increase for the month as that state produced 545 million pounds, about six percent more than the same month in 2003.

The number of cows on farms in the 20 major states was 7.72 million head, about 71,000 head less than May 2003, and 5,000 head less than April 2004. Wisconsin was milking about 1.24 million head of dairy cattle during the month, with annual total production averaging 1,545 pounds per cow -- which is about three pounds less than last year's average. The national per-cow average was 13 pounds higher at 1,684 pounds per animal.