E-mail: nass-ny@nass.usda.gov
(518) 457-5570

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:  Bryan Combs
Tuesday, February 20, 2009

www.nass.usda.gov/ny

                         JANUARY MILK PRODUCTION UP

New York dairy herds produced 1.04 billion pounds of milk during January
according to Stephen Ropel, Director of USDA’s National Agricultural
Statistics Service, New York Field office.  Milk cows declined from the
previous year while production per cow increased resulting in a slight
increase in milk production compared to January 2008.  The number of milk
cows averaged 624,000 head, down 2,000 head from January of the previous
year.  Milk per cow averaged 1670 pounds, up 10 pounds from the January
2008 rate.

Final annual milk production in the Empire State during 2008 totaled 12.4
billion pounds.  The annual average number of milk cows, at 626,000 head,
was down slightly from a year earlier.  Output per cow increased by 556
pounds to 19,859 pounds per cow.

Dairy farmers in the Empire State received an average of $14.40 per
hundredweight of milk sold during January, down $1.70 from December and
$6.90 below January a year ago.

Milk production in the 23 major States during January totaled 14.9 billion
pounds, up 1.0 percent from January 2008.  December revised production at
14.7 billion pounds, was up 1.8 percent from December 2007. The December
revision represented an increase of 44 million pounds or 0.3 percent from
last month’s preliminary production estimate.

Production per cow in the 23 major States averaged 1,746 pounds for
January, 5 pounds above January 2008.  The number of milk cows on farms in
the 23 major States was 8.51 million head, 58,000 head more than January
2008, and 12,000 head less than December 2008.

The annual production of milk for the U.S. during 2008 was 190 billion
pounds, 2.3 percent above 2007. Revisions to 2007 production increased the
annual total 52 million pounds. Revised 2008 production was up 293 million
pounds from last month's publication.

Production per cow in the U.S. averaged 20,396 pounds for 2008, 192 pounds
above 2007. The average annual rate of milk production per cow has
increased 14.8 percent from 1999.

The average number of milk cows on farms in the U.S. during 2008 was 9.32
million head, up 1.4 percent from 2007. The average number of milk cows was
revised up 44,000 head for 2008.

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2-20-09