Irish milk production levels are up 8.2% in the first nine months of this year, according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Between January and September of this year, a total of 6,100.7 million litres of milk were produced on dairy farms across Ireland.
This was an increase of 8.2% – or 462.3 million litres of milk – compared to the same period in the previous year, figures show.
Meanwhile, domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 644.8 million litres for September of this year, the CSO added. This was 10.5% above the corresponding figure for 2016.
Image source: CSO
When comparing the milk produce figures for September 2017 to the same month last year, the CSO indicated that the total milk sold for human consumption increased by 0.1 % to 44.4 million litres.
The level of butter production also fell by 2.8% to 17,900t, it added.
The increases witnessed in September follow on from an increase in milk production of 11.2% during the month of August. Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 777.7 million litres for the eighth month of this year.
US milk production in September up 1.2%
Milk production in the 23 major states in the US totalled 16.2 billion pounds in September, an increase of 1.2% from September 2016.
Production per cow in the 23 major states averaged 1,851lb in the ninth month of this year, representing the highest production per cow for the month of September since the 23 state series began in 2003.
Looking at the period between July and September – the third quarter of this year – the level of milk production in the entire US equalled 53.5 billion pounds. This represents an increase of 1.7% compared to the third quarter of 2016.
The average number of dairy cows in the US during that period amounted to 9.4 million head. This was an increase of 4,000 head on the second of the year and it was 71,000 head more than the third quarter of 2016.