Milk production in the United States during the July -
September quarter totaled 54.0 billion pounds, up 0.9 percent from the same
period last year.
The average number of milk cows in the U.S. during the
quarter was 9.38 million head, 27,000 head less than the April - June quarter,
and 27,000 head less than in 2017.
For the month of September, 16.4 billion pounds of milk was
produced in the 23 major dairy states, which was 1.5 percent more than in 2017,
but lower than the previous month's 17.2 billion pounds.
California continues to have the highest total production
with about 3.21 billion pounds. Texas had the largest increase in year-to-year
output as that state produced 1.04 billion pounds of milk in September, up 8.9
percent from the same period last year.
Meanwhile, the number of milk cows on farms in the 23 major
states was 8.72 million head, 13,000 head less than September 2017, and 12,000
head less than August 2018.