July 26, 2004

Hawaii Milk Production Continues To Decline
 

Hawaii's dairy cows are expressing 7.5 million pounds of milk a month, based on May figures, down from 8.3 million pounds a month last year.

Cow inventory, both dry and in milk, numbered 6,400 head, 100 down from May 2003, just ahead of a dairy farm selloff planned before the end of this month on the Waianae Coast of Oahu that will leave Hawaii with only five dairy farms, two on Oahu and the rest on the Big Island.

The average output per cow was 1,170 pounds. Production for the first five months of this year was 9 percent below the comparable period in 2003 and totaling 36.6 million pounds.

Milk production in the 20 major milk-producing states, meanwhile, hit 13 billion pounds in May, down a tenth of one percent from year-ago levels.

Milk shipped to Hawaii from the mainland is about 10 days old at the earliest opportunity to drink it.