Cow number increases support boost in September milk production

An addition of 101,000 cows from a year ago in the top 23 dairy states was mainly responsible for the 1.9-percent increase in milk production for September that was reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistical Service on Wednesday afternoon of this week. It noted that August's milk production was revised upward by 17 million pounds, putting that month's increase at 2.3-percent compared to a year earlier.

For September, milk production in the top 23 states totaled 14.76 billion pounds compared to 14.481 billion pounds in September 2010. All but four of those states reported a year to year increase for September.

In the state by state comparisons, the percentage changes shifted greatly from what had been typical during the past year. For example, California's September production was up by only .6-percent to 3.314 billion pounds, but Florida was up by 11.3 percent and Washington by 5.5 percent.

For the first time in many months, Wisconsin's production change was very close to the national average. Its milk production of 2.124 billion pounds for September was 1.8 percent higher than in 2010 and represented a record high for the month in the state.

Percentage increases for other states included 10.1 in Texas as milk production grew to 774 million pounds, 6.3 in Colorado, 4.7 in Arizona, 4.4 in New Mexico, 3.9 in Kansas, 3.3 in Indiana, and 2.9 percent to 1.117 billion pounds in Idaho. States with decreases were Missouri at 4.5 percent, Pennsylvania at 1.5, Ohio at 1.4, and Minnesota at .7 percent.

Cow numbers in the 23 states rose to 8.472 million with California adding 25,000, Texas 20,000, New Mexico 13,000, Idaho 11,000, Michigan 10,000, and Colorada 8,000. Cow numbers were down by 7,000 in Iowa and by 5,000 in Pennsylvania, while Wisconsin remained at 1.264 million head.

All of Wisconsin's milk production increase for September was due to the 30-pound per cow average increase to 1,680 pounds. This outpaced the 12-pound average increase to 1,742 pounds for the top 23 states, with New Mexico leading the way with an average of 2,020 pounds per cow for September.