November 22, 2010

US milk production increases

Every state except four had higher milk production from their dairy cattle in October.

The USDA said that the overall production for the 23 key dairy states in the previous month increased by 3.3% in contrast to year-ago levels at 14.8 billion pounds. The amount was also more than September's output of 14.5 billion.

Wisconsin dairy farmers had an output of 2.12 billion pounds of milk in October. This is more than last year by 0.8% and also more than September's 2.09 billion pounds. Meanwhile, California is still the biggest producer with a total production of approximately 3.34 billion pounds. Oregon had the most percent-increase for the month as the state produced 205 million pounds, an increase of 11.4% from year-ago totals.

There were 8.37 million head of milk cows on farms in the 23 major states. It was 52,000 more than last October but remained the same as this September. Wisconsin milked about 1.26 million head of dairy cattle during the month and total output averaged at 1,680 pounds per cow for the month. It was more than last October's average by five pounds. The national per-cow average was up 47 pound at 1,767 pounds per animal.