Milk production on Irish dairy farms has increased by 11.2% in August compared to the same month last year, according to the latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
Domestic milk intake by creameries and pasteurisers was estimated at 777.7 million litres for the eighth month of this year. This was an increase of 78.4 million litres.
The total milk sold for human consumption increased by 0.4% to 45.2 million litres, when you compare the milk produce figures for last month with the corresponding month in 2016.
Butter production was also up 16% to 23,500t, the CSO added.
These increases follow on from a jump in milk production of 9.5% recorded in July.
Furthermore, milk production for the first eight months of this year is 8.1% ahead of last year. A total of 5,461.6 million litres was produced on Irish dairy farms up until the end of August.
Image source: CSO
These figures have been released on the back of the latest Global Dairy Trade auction recording its second consecutive increase.
It rose by 0.9% at the event on September 19, despite the the price index for skimmed milk powder (SMP) falling by 1.2%
US milk production in August up 2%
Meanwhile, milk production in the 23 major states during August saw an increase of 2.1% year-on-year, according to figures published by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
A total of 17 billion pounds of milk was produced on dairy farms across the 23 states, as cow numbers remained relatively unchanged between July and August of this year.
This is understood to be the highest production per cow for the month of August since the 23-state series began in 2003.
Meanwhile, the dairy cow population on farms within the 23 major states equalled 8.73 million head. This was 66,000 head more than August 2016, but unchanged from July 2017, figures show.