Milk Continues to Gush Across the U.S.

Milk continues to gush across the U.S., though the pace of growth has slowed somewhat. USDA’s most recent Milk Production report, released earlier this week, showed that volumes across the U.S. ticked up by 2.3% year over year in May. Once adjusted for component growth the increase is likely to be even larger. While still strong by historical standards, this is actually the lowest year over year increase since April 2025. The country’s largest dairy states continued to record gains relative to prior year levels with volumes in California, Wisconsin, and Texas up 1.2%, 2.3%, and 4%, respectively. The largest declines were witnessed in Pennsylvania and Washington where shrinking cow numbers weighed on production, even as yields rose.

A larger dairy herd continues to push milk production upward. The national herd swelled to 9.665 million head in May, an increase of 10,000 cows versus prior month and a whopping 184,000 head gain against the same month last year. Even though milk margins are tight, high beef prices are encouraging dairy producers to keep cows in the herd for an extra lactation cycle, pushing cow numbers, and in turn milk production, upward. An expanded herd wasn’t the only factor driving production higher, however, as yields also rose by 0.4% year over year in May.

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June 29, 2026

dairybusiness.com