The 24 states for which the USDA reports milk production are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin. As of late May, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, milk production in the 24 major States during April totaled 17.4 billion pounds, up 0.3 percent from April 2018.
Individual cows are producing very well. Per cow production across the 24 major States averaged 1,996 pounds for April, 19 pounds above year ago levels. These numbers reflect the highest per cow production levels for the month of April since the 24 State series began in 2003. Total number of milk cows on farms in those 24 states was 8.71 million head, 55,000 head less than a year ago, but 1,000 head less than March 2019.
Overall, the annual production of milk for the United States during 2018 was 218 billion pounds, 1.0 percent above 2017. Per cow production in the U.S. averaged 23,149 pounds for 2018, 235 pounds above 2017. Cows continue to become more proficient.
The average annual rate of milk production per cow has increased 12.6 percent from 2009 (Graph: Hoard’s Dairyman).
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