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August milk production sets new per cow record

The USDA says milk production continued to climb in August, up 1.4 percent on the year.

Production per cow in the top 23 dairy states was set at 1,974 pounds during August, the highest for the month since reporting began in 2003 and a continues last month’s record setting pace.

Milk production in the U.S. totaled 18.3 billion pounds for the month. The national herd size declined by 4,000 from last year to 9.4 million head but was up by 5,000 from last month.

Colorado had the highest per-cow production average at 2,245 pounds and Michigan was a close second.

Texas had the highest year-over-year increase in milk production during August, up 9.5 percent followed by Colorado and Kansas. Florida had the largest decrease in production, down more than seven percent.