US milk production up in October

The total production of milk in 23 major US states was up 2.5% year-on-year this October, totalling 15.2 billion lb, according to the latest Milk Production Report released by the US Department of Agriculture.

The average milk production per cow in the states stood at 1,787lb, 20lb above October 2010.

The total number of cows on farms was 8.48 million heads, a rise of 111,000 heads from last year and 10,000 heads from September 2011.

Texas recorded the highest year-on-year increase with 9.8%, followed by Florida (up 7.9%) and Arizona (7.2%), while California had the highest production volume (3.4 billion lb).

This is the 21st month in a row in which milk production has gone up on a year-on-year basis.