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Milk production in the US is slowly slowing down.
Milk production in the US is growing due to a larger herd, but the pace is leveling off while milk prices remain under pressure. This puts profitability under strain. Read more about milk production and milk prices in the US.
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The production growth is primarily due to a larger livestock herd and less to higher efficiency. The number of dairy cows increased by 2,1% in March to 9,18 million animals.
States such as Kansas (+25,4%), Texas (+4,7%), and Wisconsin (+2,6%) made the largest contribution to the increase in production in March. In a few states, production actually contracted, such as in Washington (-5,8%), Pennsylvania (-2,3%), and New Mexico (-3,2%).
For the first quarter, total milk production amounts to 25,5 million tonnes, an increase of 3% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the milk price remains under pressure. The average farmgate price (all classes) stood at $18,3 per cwt in February. While this is 4,6% higher than a month earlier, it is still 22,5% lower than a year ago. This weighs on the profitability of dairy farms and partly explains why production growth is starting to slow down.