Western dairy production down, Midwest up
A little more breakdown on the August milk production numbers. Total output in the 23 major dairy states in August was 14.6 billion pounds, down .2 percent from August of last year. Production per cow in the 23 states averaged 1,743 up 25 pounds from a year ago while the number of cows dropped 143,000 to 8.37 million head
Big declines in the Western states, California production down 4.5 percent from a year ago to 3.2 billion pounds, production per cow slipped 20 pounds to 1,820 and the Golden State dairy herd dropped 64,000 cows from a year ago. Arizona production in August was down 7.4% compared to a year ago, Washington down 3.1%, Colorado lost 2.8%, Idaho down 2.7%, Utah was down 1.7% and New Mexico slipped 1.1%. The only non-western state to lose production was Vermont, down 4.7%. While California saw a 20-pound drop and Idaho a 30-pound drop in production per cow, the other Western states saw increases but not enough to offset the decline in cow numbers. Arizona’s herd was 14,000 head smaller than a year ago, New Mexico lost 17,000 cows, Washington is down 9,000, Colorado and Idaho declined 7,000 each and Utah lost 2,000 head.
On the other end, Wisconsin milk production in August was 3.7% higher than a year ago at 2.34 billion pounds. The Badger State dairy herd added 5,000 cows to 1.257 million head and production per cow increased 55 pounds to 1,705. All of the Midwestern states saw milk production increases, Minnesota up 4.4%, Michigan up 4.6%, Indiana production increased 4.9% and Illinois jumped 5.4%. Those states saw production per cow increase anywhere from 55 to 75 pounds per head plus most added more cows. Indiana’s herd is 1,000 head larger than a year ago, Minnesota added 4,000 and Michigan increased 5,000. Illinois’s cow numbers were unchanged from a year ago.
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