According to the USDA’s monthly milk production report, state output totaled 2.56 billion pounds during the month, up 1.0 percent from October 2018, and higher than September’s 2.52 billion pounds, which had less days on the calendar. It was the second month in a row that prices increased from year-ago levels after falling four consecutive months since June. Nationally, 17.3 billion pounds of milk was produced in the 24 major dairy states for the month. That was a 1.7 percent increase over 2018, and more than the previous month’s 16.8 billion.
Meanwhile, the number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major states was 8.81 million head, 1,000 head less than October 2018, but 5,000 head more than September 2019. The average number of milk cows on Wisconsin farms for the month was 1.27 million head, which was unchanged from last month, but 6,000 fewer than last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,025 pounds, which was 30 pounds more than last year’s figures.