September Milk Production Down Slightly

USDA’s latest Milk Production report shows production in the 24 major states during September totaled 17.5 billion pounds, down slightly from September 2022. August revised production, at 18.1 billion pounds, was down 0.7 percent from August 2022. The August revision represented a decrease of 73 million pounds or 0.4 percent from last month’s preliminary production estimate.

Production per cow in the 24 major States averaged 1,960 pounds for September, three pounds above September 2022. The number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major States was 8.91 million head, 16,000 head less than September 2022, and 2,000 head less than August 2023. Milk production in the United States during the July – September quarter totaled 56.1 billion pounds, down 0.7 percent from the July – September quarter last year.

The average number of milk cows in the United States during the quarter was 9.38 million head, 41,000 head less than the April – June quarter, and 33,000 head less than the same period last year.