April milk production stable

Despite today's low milk prices, milk production figures held steady for April. National milk production was down just 0.1 percent, while figures for the top 23 dairy states (which produce 92.5 percent of the nation's milk) were up 0.1 percent. Cow numbers were down slightly with 3,000 fewer cows compared to April 2008 and 2,000 fewer head than March 2009, according to the USDA report released May 18.

Among the top dairy states, milk production in:
• California was down 2.3 percent
• Wisconsin was up 1.6 percent
• New York was down 0.5 percent
• Idaho was down 1.5 percent
• Pennsylvania was down 1.9 percent
• Minnesota was up 2.9 percent

Other states of note included:
Texas up 7.2 percent
Florida up 5.9 percent
Kansas up 5.o percent
Washington down 3.4 percent
Vermont down 5.0 percent