Cow's milk production
This page contains:
  • a chart showing monthly milk production;
  • a chart comparing data for the annual production of cow's milk in the US and price trends for farm-gate milk (converted into Euros) over a given time period;
  • a chart showing monthly milk production over the last three years, highlighting the seasonality;
  • two tables giving us an overview of annual production, expressed in both tonnes and pounds, over a given period.
N.B.:

Milk production in the United States has increased significantly over the past 20 years. The US production structure has undergone significant changes from the 1990s to the present day, with a sharp decrease in the number of dairy cows and producers. On the contrary, the quantity produced per capita has grown significantly (up 60% compared to the early 1980s) thanks, in particular, to technological advances, genetic research and business management improvements.

The type of business has also changed: the number of small and medium-sized businesses has decreased significantly while the number of large companies (those with over 500 head of cattle) has grown, accounting for almost 50% of the country's total milk production.

The companies tend to be located in States where the conditions for dairy production are better: California, Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Minnesota, New Mexico, Michigan, Texas and Washington guarantee 71% of the entire national production.
The companies expand their production mainly in the Western US States, where there are four general factors that appeal to producers:
  • availability of land and water,
  • infrastructure,
  • a favourable climate,
  • optimised business management practices.
Together with best business management practices, the opportunity to use land that is far away from residential areas (due to low competition for land use) has significantly reduced farm-gate milk production costs, especially in California.
Production costs have been considerably lowered thanks to the following factors in particular:
  • the presence of major infrastructures (services, technical support, livestock assistance),
  • the enhancement of production efficiency (in-house production versus outsourcing),
  • the quality of animal feeds,
  • favourable federal legislation within these particular States,
  • tax incentives.
The market impact of competitive prices in western regions has also affected producers throughout the rest of the country.

(May 2010)
Show/Hide the Monthly Milk Production in USA

Show/Hide the Moving Average Global Supply in USA

CURRENT YEAR
LAST YEAR
USA: Cow's Milk Productions
Cow's Milk  (tons x 1000)
Month 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 ± % on 2012
January
6.955
7.078
7.247
7.319
7.267
7.436
7.718
7.752
+0,43%
February
6.461
6.496
6.884
6.692
6.694
6.839
7.398
7.141
-3,48%
March
7.245
7.317
7.465
7.478
7.536
7.706
8.037
8.012
-0,31%
April
7.049
7.150
7.314
7.325
7.446
7.553
7.816
7.834
+0,22%
May
7.283
7.339
7.578
7.623
7.729
7.837
7.984
 
June
6.945
7.020
7.231
7.228
7.418
7.493
7.564
 
July
6.876
7.128
7.255
7.266
7.455
7.475
7.523
 
August
6.843
7.042
7.147
7.138
7.300
7.449
7.440
 
September
6.571
6.745
6.863
6.821
7.049
7.159
7.116
 
October
6.739
6.972
7.083
6.995
7.212
7.384
7.379
 
November
6.588
6.810
6.900
6.836
7.030
7.176
7.261
 
December
6.909
7.091
7.212
7.156
7.326
7.510
7.630
 
Total 82.463 84.189 86.180 85.875 87.462 89.016 90.867 30.738
Variation %
+2,72%
+2,09%
+2,37%
-0,35%
+1,85%
+1,78%
+2,08%
-0,75%¹
Last Update: 2013-05-21
1) change from the same period of previous year
Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service
USA: Cow's Milk Productions
Cow's Milk * (thousands of pounds)
Month 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 ± % on 2012
January
15.333
15.605
15.976
16.135
16.020
16.393
17.016
17.089
+0,43%
February
14.244
14.321
15.176
14.754
14.758
15.077
16.310
15.743
-3,48%
March
15.972
16.132
16.458
16.485
16.614
16.989
17.718
17.663
-0,31%
April
15.541
15.763
16.125
16.148
16.416
16.652
17.232
17.270
+0,22%
May
16.056
16.180
16.707
16.805
17.040
17.278
17.601
 
June
15.311
15.476
15.942
15.935
16.353
16.518
16.676
 
July
15.159
15.714
15.995
16.018
16.436
16.479
16.585
 
August
15.085
15.525
15.757
15.737
16.094
16.422
16.403
 
September
14.487
14.871
15.129
15.038
15.540
15.783
15.687
 
October
14.856
15.370
15.615
15.420
15.900
16.278
16.267
 
November
14.523
15.013
15.212
15.070
15.498
15.820
16.008
 
December
15.231
15.632
15.900
15.775
16.150
16.556
16.821
 
Total 181.798 185.602 189.992 189.320 192.819 196.245 200.325 67.765
Variation %
+2,72%
+2,09%
+2,37%
-0,35%
+1,85%
+1,78%
+2,08%
-0,75%¹
Last Update: 2013-05-21
1) change from the same period of previous year
*: Conversion: 1 Kg = 2.2046 Pounds
Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service