The February 2023 USDA Milk Production report showed an 0.8% increase in year-over-year milk production with a total of 17.7 billion lbs. of milk. Five of the top six states illustrated production growth except for California, which declined.
Also following suit, U.S. cow numbers documented growth, up 37,000 head from last February and up an additional 12,000 cows from last month. In fact, five of the top six states illustrated positive growth except for Wisconsin, which lost 3,000 cows.
Dan Basse, president of AgResources Company, told the PDPW audience last week at their business meeting in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., that the reason for a decline in cow numbers in the Badger State stems mostly from environmental pressures.
| State | Production | % Change | Cows |
| California | 3.282 billion lbs. | -0.9% | +3,000 |
| Wisconsin | 2.445 billion lbs. | +0.3% | -3,000 |
| Texas | 1.326 billion lbs. | +5.5% | +22,000 |
| Idaho | 1.284 billion lbs. | +3.4% | +15,000 |
| New York | 1.222 billion lbs. | +2.9% | +10,000 |
| Michigan | 927 million lbs. | +3.1% | +7,000 |
These top six U.S. cow number states account for more than half of total U.S. production. Production per cow in the U.S. averaged 7 lbs. more than in February 2022.
Phil Plourd, president of Ever.Ag, says tailwinds from generally strong 2022 profitability continue to propel modest growth in our national herd size as well as milk output.
“That could continue for a bit, but we see headwinds on the horizon as lower milk prices cut into margins,” he says. “We doubt that milk production will be robust by the time the fourth quarter rolls around.”
Tanner Ehmke with Co-Bank says the new cheese processing capacity coming online in the Texas Panhandle also adds a tailwind to the herd growth in states like Texas and Idaho. The driver behind this is feed availability.
“Herd growth areas, like Texas and Idaho, are going to continue to get bigger,” he states.
