During January 2015 milk production was 2.1% higher than during the same month in 2014 according to the latest figures released by the USDA. The estimated number of dairy cows in milk is up 96,000 head year-on-year. The larger herd size accounted for half of the growth in milk output while the other half was due to a 1% increase in the volume of milk each cow produced.
The growth in milk output has occurred despite a slow down in production in California, the largest milk producing state. In California milk outputs were down 2.6% year-on-year with a drop in cow productivity driving down milk volumes. The number of cows in milk in California is also estimated to have fallen by 2,000 head to 1,779,000, but this is not the major driving of the slow down in production from this state.
Wisconsin grew its milk outputs in January by 3.4% because dairy cow numbers expanded by 5,000 head but it was the 3% expansion in milk per cow that really drove the gain in production from this state.
During January 2015 out of the 23 main dairying states Colarado recorded the higher milk per cow figure. Each dairy cow in Colarado produced, on average, 2140 pounds of milk.
