Dairy cows

At 19.05 billion pounds, U.S. milk production in January was down a dramatic 1.6% year over year on 82,00 fewer cows and a decline of 15 pounds per cow, according to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

Milk production was down in 19 of the 24 states with the largest production.

Milk production in New Mexico showed the largest decline, down 12.1% from January 2021 on 42,000 fewer cattle. The state’s production per cow, however, was up 10 pounds.

Washington also saw a large decline in milk production, down 7.1% on 17,000 fewer cows and a 20-pound decline in production per cow.

On the plus side, South Dakota’s milk production increased 18.3% with 28,000 additional cows despite a per-cow decline of 20 pounds.

The USDA report also showed a 1.3% increase in milk production in 2021 year over year. The number of cows increased 56,000 head year over year in 2021, and per-cow production was up 171 pounds.

Nationwide, the industry lost 1,794 licensed dairy herds in 2021 — a 5.7% drop from 2020. Declines in the number of dairies were seen in 41 states, and nine others held steady.

The biggest declines were in Wisconsin, down 340 dairies; Pennsylvania, down 230 dairies; New York, down 220; and Washington, down 145 dairies.

While year-over-year cow numbers were down 9,000 head in Washington and 8,000 in Pennsylvania, they were up 15,000 in Wisconsin and 1,000 in New York.

Over the past 10 years, the number of licensed dairy herds declined by 39.5%, from 49,331 herds in 2012 to 29,858 in 2021. During the same period, the number of milk cows increased 2%, milk produced per cow increased 10% and overall milk production increased 13%.