January Milk Production down 0.9 percent
Milk production in the 24 major States during January totaled 18.3 billion pounds, down 0.9 percent from January 2023. December revised production, at 18.1 billion pounds, was down 0.1 percent from December 2022. The December revision represented a decrease of 8 million pounds or less than 0.1 percent from last month's preliminary production estimate. Production per cow in the 24 major States averaged 2,062 pounds for January, 9 pounds below January 2023. The number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major States was 8.87 million head, 49,000 head less than January 2023, and 21,000 head less than December 2023.
2023 Annual Milk Production down slightly from 2022
The annual production of milk for the United States during 2023 was 226 billion pounds, down slightly from 2022. Revisions to 2022 production decreased the annual total 46 million pounds. Revised 2023 production was down 187 million pounds from last month's publication. Annual total milk production has increased 9.9 percent from 2014. Production per cow in the United States averaged 24,117 pounds for 2023, 30 pounds above 2022. The average annual rate of milk production per cow has increased 8.4 percent from 2014. The average number of milk cows on farms in the United States during 2023 was revised down 9,000 head to 9.39 million head, down 0.1 percent from 2022. The average annual number of milk cows has increased 1.3 percent from 2014.
