OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2004 MILK PRODUCTION DOWN

Columbia, S.C., January 18, 2005 There were an estimated 69 million pounds of milk produced in SOUTH CAROLINA during the October - December quarter of 2004 according to the USDA NASS South Carolina Statistical Service. This production represented a 4 percent decrease from the 72 million pounds produced during the same quarter in 2003, but was up 10 percent from the previous quarter.

There were 18,000 milk cows on SOUTH CAROLINA farms during October - December 2004, up 1,000 from the previous quarter.

Milk production in the UNITED STATES during the October-December quarter of 2004 totaled 41.9 billion pounds, up 0.9 percent from the October-December quarter last year. The average number of milk cows during the quarter was 9.02 million head, 7,000 head more than the same period last year.

For additional information call: Robert A. Graham, Director

                                                    Stan Cheek, Agricultural Statistician