August U.S. Milk Production Report Shows That Cow Numbers Are Down Slightly from a Year Ago

Down 0.2 percent, with 19.0 billion lbs. of milk, the August 2023 USDA Milk Production report did not document much change from the previous year. Following suite, milk production per cow in the 24 major states declined by 1 lb. per cow. Total cow numbers reported 9.39 million head, 16,000 fewer head than last year, but unchanged from July 2023.

“At a high level, down is down. Milk production trailed 2022 levels and, more importantly, cow numbers are down, too. We expect that to persist,” Phil Plourd, president of Ever.Ag Insights says. “Overall, however, we thought the numbers would be a little lower. But California comparisons got a little easier and slaughter activity wasn't quite as intense as the month came to a close."

New York Moves Up Among the top six production states New York surpassed Texas to move into the fourth spot, largely due to the impact of a massive barn fire in Texas earlier this year.

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