News Release - Wisconsin dairy cows came short of exceeding their year-to-year production levels in February, but when Leap Day was factored in they actually produced more. The USDA's monthly milk production report showed that farmers in the Dairy State produced 2.32 billion pounds of milk last month, down 2.1 percent from February 2016, and less than January's 2.54 billion pounds. However, when daily averages were calculated, the summary indicated that this year's output exceeded 2016 figures by one percent; and that equates to 34 consecutive months of year-to-year increases in overall production.
Nationally, 15.7 billion pounds of milk was produced in the 23 major dairy states, which was 1.0 percent lower than in 2016, and less than the previous month's 17 billion. But just as in Wisconsin, production was 2.5 percent above last year after adjusting for the Leap Day in 2016.
California continues to have the highest total production with about 3.12 billion pounds. Texas had the greatest increase in year-to-year output as that state produced 928 million pounds of milk in February, up 12.3 percent from the same month last year.
Meanwhile, the number of milk cows on farms in the 23 major states was 8.69 million head, 66,000 head more than February 2016, and 3,000 head more than January 2017. The average number of milk cows on Wisconsin farms for the month was nearly 1.28 million head, unchanged from last month and last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 1,815 pounds, down 40 pounds from last year's figures.
Last Update: Mar 21, 2017 12:16 pm CDT
