Milk production on Irish farms this year has continued well ahead of 2016 levels, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 856.6 million litres for July 2017, according to the CSO.
This was 9.5% above the corresponding 2016 figure.
In terms of milk produce for July 2017, the total milk sold for human consumption actually decreased by 1.2% to 44.1 million litres compared to July 2016. Butter production, however, was up 14.1% to 23,110t compared to July last year.
Regarding milk production for 2017 so far, the total production from January to July was 4,676 million litres, which is up 7.4% on the same period last year (4,344.3 million litres).
Image source: CSO Ireland
Record milk production levels per cow continues in the US
Meanwhile, milk production levels per cow continued to reach record levels in the 23 major states in the US during the month of July.
Production per cow in the 23 major states averaged 1,969lb for July; this equated to an increase of 21lb on the same month in 2016.
This is the highest production per cow for the month of July since the 23 state series began in 2003, the USDA added.
During the month of July, the total number of dairy cows on farms across the 23 major states equalled 8.73 million head. This was 72,000 head more than July 2016, but 1,000 head less than June 2017, figures show.
Taking these figures into account, total milk production across the 23 major states was up 1.9% during the seventh month of this year – totalling 17.2 billion pounds.