Irish milk production last month was down 3.1% versus the corresponding month last year, according to the latest figures released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO).
It was estimated that domestic milk intake equalled 848.5 million litres in July 2018, compared to 874.8 million litres in the same month in 2017.
Comparing the July 2018 figures with those for July 2017 shows that total milk sold for human consumption decreased by 2.4% to 43.8 million litres.
Meanwhile, butter production was down 3.9% to 23,000t, the CSO added.
Source: Central Statistics Office
Comparing domestic milk intake figures for the first seven months of this year to the corresponding period in 2017 indicates a marginal drop of 0.6%.
Upward curve continues for US milk production
The upward curve for milk production in the US has continued in the seventh month of this year, according to the latest figures from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Milk production in the 23 major states during July of this year totalled 17.3 billion pounds, up 0.4% from July 2017, the USDA explained.
In terms of production per cow in the 23 major states, the figure averaged 1,980lb last month. This represented an increase of 8lb compared to the corresponding month last year.
The number of dairy cows on farms in the 23 major states equalled 8.74 million head. This was 1,000 more than July 2017, but 8,000 head less than June 2018, the figures show.