California Dairy Industry Remains Top, Texas Growing Fast

WASHINGTON, DC – The milk production forecasts for 2019 and 2020 are raised from the previous month as stronger growth in milk per cow more than offsets a slower expected recovery in the cow inventory. The 2019 Class III and Class IV price forecasts are raised as the higher cheese price more than offsets the lower whey price. 2019 all milk price forecast is raised to $18.60 per hundredweight while the 2020 all milk price is forecast unchanged at $18.85 per hundredweight. Milk production in the United States during October totaled 18.1 billion pounds, up 1.3 percent from the previous year. Production increased 33 pounds per cow (1,941 pounds for October). California (3.4 billion pounds) remains the top producing dairy state in the Union, but Texas (1.1 billion pounds) experienced the largest growth, adding more than nine percent over 2018. All of this comes, according to USDA, on 40-thousand fewer head than one year ago (9.3 million head herd).