California production was down 3.3% in March from year earlier. Wisconsin, the No. 2 dairy state, was up 3%.
USDA released its abridged milk production estimate for March this afternoon, noting that production was down 0.3% from a year ago (and down 0.1% in the 23 major dairy producing states).
Because of sequestration funding cutbacks, USDA is not surveying dairy farms and does not have milk cow number or production data. The milk production data is based largely on Federal Milk Marketing Order statistics and state statistics.
California production was down 3.3% in March from year earlier. That’s a bit better than February, when California was down 4% on a leap-year adjusted basis.
Wisconsin, the #2 dairy state, was up 3% in March. Idaho production was up 0.5%, New York was up 1.8% and Pennsylvania was up 0.3%.
The largest percentage decline came in Missouri, down 7.4%, and Texas, down 4.1%. The largest gain, percentage wise, came in Kansas, up 5%.
You can read the full report here.
