US milk production continues its upward trajectory for 2018

Milk production in the US continued on its upward trajectory during the fifth month of this year, according to the latest figures from the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

In the 23 major states, milk production in May totalled 17.9 billion pounds – this was an increase of 0.9% compared to the same month in 2017.

The latest update from the US department also outlined that milk production figures for April of this year were revised to 17.3 billion pounds. This was up 0.5% on the corresponding month last year.

The April revision reportedly represented a decrease of 18 million pounds, or 0.1%, from last month’s preliminary production estimate.

Image source: USDA

Meanwhile, production per cow in the 23 major states averaged 2,052lb last month – this was 15lb above May 2017, statistics show.

This is the highest production per cow level recorded for the month of May since the 23 state series began in 2003, according to the department.

In the fifth month of this year, the number of dairy cows on farms across the 23 major states equalled 8.74 million head – this was 10,000 head more than May of last year, it added.

The total also represented a jump of 2,000 head versus April 2018.

Across the US as a whole, milk production levels totalled 19.1 billion pounds in May – up 0.8% from the same month last year, the latest figures show.

The dairy cow population in the US equalled 9.4 million head last month, an increase of 3,000 on the figure recorded in May of last year. The overall population also jumped by 2,000 when compared to the previous month, the USDA explained.

Production per cow levels in the US increased by 15lb year-on-year, averaging 2,031lb for May 2018, it added.