U.S. Milk Production Drops 0.8% Year-Over-Year in November

The most recent USDA Milk Production report, which details U.S. milk production through the month of November, was released Thursday. Here’s a look at the numbers across the 24 major milk-producing states.

Milk Production Down

Overall milk production across the 24 major states came in at 17.2 billion pounds for the month of November, down 0.8% from November 2023. This was the first month since July that milk production fell below that of the same month in 2023.

17.2 billion pounds is the lowest monthly total so far this year, which mostly tracks with last year’s monthly totals.

The state with the greatest decrease in milk production for November year-over-year was California. Production in the Golden State for November was 2,957 million pounds, compared to 3,258 million pounds in November 2023. That’s a change of -9.2%.

Another milk production powerhouse, Wisconsin, also saw an overall decrease in November production compared to that of November 2023, albeit not as extreme as California’s. USDA said Wisconsin’s milk production was 2,576 million pounds in November, down 0.3% from November 2023. 

Cow Numbers Remain High

The number of milk cows across the nation’s 24 top states was 8.923 million head in November. That’s 32,000 head more than in November 2023. 

That total did not change much compared to the month prior – in October 2024, the number of milk cows was just 2,000 head more. At 8.925 million head, October saw the highest number of milk cows on farms in 2024 so far.

Milk Per Cow Hits 2024 Low

In the 24 major states, milk production per cow averaged 1,925 pounds for November, down 22 pounds compared to 1,947 pounds in November 2023. 

The average of 1,925 pounds of milk per cow is the lowest reported all year so far. Only in two other months this year has milk per cow been below 2,000 pounds: February (1,962 pounds) and September (1,968 pounds).