USDA reported this afternoon that U.S. milk production rose 2.5% in December. For the year, milk production came in at 192.726 billion lb., a 1.8% increase over 2009.
Milk per cow in 2010 jumped 2.8%, and now, amazingly, averages 21,148 lb. per moo bossie.
The number of moo bossies, however, declined 88,000 head, or just under 1%. But those are average numbers for the year. In December, cow numbers stood at 9.136 milllion head, 54,000 more than December 2009 (+0.6%) and 16,000 more than November 2010.
The
Cooperatives Working Together program culled 31,159 cows in 2010 (compared to more than 200,000 in 2009). So, theoretically at least, cow numbers would be even higher without that program.
The big state gainers in December came from Colorado, up 10.9%; Arizona and Oregon, both up 8.1%, and Kansas, +7.3%.
California was up 2.7% (88 million lb.), which was up more actual milk than Colorado, Arizona, Oregon and Kansas combined. California’s cow numbers still trail year ago by 14,000 head.
Wisconsin was up just 0.7% in milk production, but cow numbers were up 6,000. New York was up 4.6%, Idaho, 4.9%, and Pennsylvania, +1.8%. On the negative side, Missouri showed the largest milk production decline, down 7.9%.
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