Dairy production eases only slightly
June milk production in the top 23 states totaled 14.7 billion pounds, down 0.1 percent from June 2008, according to USDA’s preliminary data, and the first decline since April 2004. Extrapolated, the 50-state June total is 15.9 billion, down 0.2 percent. Revisions added 46 million pounds to the May estimate putting the nation’s bulk tank at 15.5 billion pounds, up a half a percentage point from May 2008.
The biggest increase was in Virginia, up 5.8 percent, followed by Kansas at 5.1 percent, and Texas with a 3.8 percent increase, thanks to 11,000 more cows and a 20 pound gain per cow.
