Milk production in the 23 major states during the month of August recorded an increase of 2.1% year-on-year, according to the latest figures from 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.
Revised production figures for the month of July were also announced. The July revision represented an increase of 31 million pounds or 0.2% from last month’s preliminary production estimate, the USDA added.
Record milk production levels per cow in the 23 major states continued in the month of August. Production per cow averaged 1,948lb in the eight month of the year, some 26lb above figures from August 2016.
This is reportedly the highest production per cow for the month of August since the 23 state series began in 2003.
Across the entire US, milk production rose by 2% in August of this year when compared to the same month in 2016.
A total of 18.1 billion pounds was produced on farms right across the US. Production per cow in the US as a whole averaged 1,919lb for August of this year, 24lb above August last year.
The dairy cow population in the US in August saw an increase of 71,000 this year compared to 12 months ago. There was a total of 9.41 million head of dairy cows spread across farms in the US. This figure remained unchanged from July of this year, the USDA added.
Price increases continue at latest GDT auction
At the latest Global Dairy Trade (GDT) auction on September 19, the index reported its second consecutive increase – rising by 0.9%.
On September 5, the index rose by 0.3%. This followed on from decreases of 0.4% and 1.6% at the two GDT events held during the month of August.
The price index for skimmed milk powder (SMP) fell by 1.2% at the most recent event. On the other hand, whole milk powder (WMP) climbed by 0.6%. There was no butter milk powder (BMP) offered at today’s event.
The cheddar index fell by 1.9%, while an increase of 1.2% was recorded in the butter index. The next GDT auction is scheduled to take place on October 3.