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Bird flu decimates milk production in California
The many outbreaks of bird flu (H5N1) in California are having a major impact on milk production. In November, production in the state was almost 10% lower than a year earlier. Due to the decline in the largest dairy state in the United States, the overall milk production in the country is also showing a trend break.
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At over 7.790.900 tonnes, milk supply in the 24 largest dairy states last month was about 1% lower than in November a year ago, when milk supply came in at 7.852.140 tonnes. The five-year average of 7.852.950 tonnes was also not matched last month. In fact, milk supply was the lowest since November 2019. In the years since, November has consistently outperformed this year.
State of emergency
The decline must be sought on the American west coast. In California, bird flu is spreading rapidly on dairy farms. The virus was first detected in August and 650 farms have now been affected. That is more than half of the number of dairy farms in this state, which has a total of 1,7 million cows. On average, a farm has more than 1.700 cows. At 1,34 million tons, the supply last month was no less than 9,2% below the level of last year. In September, the Californian milk supply was still the same as that of the same month in 2023. A (slighter) decline was already visible in October.
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) claims to still have a handle on how the virus is spreading, but epidemiologists have serious doubts about this. This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency, giving the government more resources to get the virus under control more quickly.