US milk production rises

Milk production in the 23 major US states totalled 5.3 billion pounds in August, indicating a 2.2% rise from August 2010, according to figures from the US Department of Agriculture.

In July of this year, revised production was 15.4 billion pounds, up 0.5% from July 2010; however, the July revision indicated a decrease of 45Mlb or 0.3% from the preliminary production estimate.

Production per cow in the 23 major states averaged 1,810lb for August, 18lb higher than in August 2010.

The national dairy herd continued to increase, as the number of milk cows on farms in the 23 major states was 8.47 million head, 102,000 head more than August 2010, and 3,000 head more than July 2011.