Des Moines, Iowa — There are more Iowa cows and they are producing more milk than they were last year at this time. But the cows are producing pretty close to the average for this year.
According to the USDA, milk production in Iowa during November 2020 totaled 438 million pounds, up 2% from the previous November according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Milk Production report. The average number of milk cows during November, at 219,000 head, was the same as last month and 3,000 more than last year. Monthly production per cow averaged 2,000 pounds, up 20 pounds from last November. There haven’t been any big swings in production this year, with yield staying basically either side of 445 million pounds.
The USDA figures just released say that milk production in the 24 major states during November totaled 17.2 billion pounds, up 3.1% from November 2019. October revised production, at 17.7 billion pounds, was up 2.5% from October 2019. The October revision represented a decrease of 7 million pounds or less than 0.1% from last month’s preliminary production estimate.
Production per cow in the 24 major States averaged 1,935 pounds for November, 41 pounds above November 2019. The number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major States was 8.90 million head, 82,000 head more than November 2019, and 13,000 head more than October 2020.
Milk production in the United States during November totaled 18.0 billion pounds, up 3.0% from November 2019. Production per cow in the United States averaged 1,916 pounds for November, 43 pounds above November 2019.
The number of milk cows on farms in the United States was 9.41 million head, 62,000 head more than November 2019, and 12,000 head more than October 2020.
