New York milk production falls nearly 4 percent in May

New York dairy farms produced more than 1.27 billion pounds of milk in May, down 3.7 percent from over 1.32 billion pounds in the year-ago month, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported.

Production per cow in the state averaged 2,035 pounds in May, down more than 3.5 percent from 2,110 pounds a year prior.

The number of milk cows on farms in New York state totaled 626,000 head in May, down slightly from 627,000 head in May 2019, NASS reported.

On the milk-price front, New York farmers in April were paid an average of $14.70 per hundredweight, down $3.80 from March, and off $3.50 from April 2019. April’s price data reflected the first full month of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic amid widespread media reports about dairy farmers being forced to dump milk as demand plummeted with restaurants, schools, and workplaces closed.

In neighboring Pennsylvania, dairy farms produced 865 million pounds of milk in May, down 3 percent from 892 million pounds a year before, according to the USDA. 

New York dairy farms produced more than 1.27 billion pounds of milk in May, down 3.7 percent from over 1.32 billion pounds in the year-ago month, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported.

Production per cow in the state averaged 2,035 pounds in May, down more than 3.5 percent from 2,110 pounds a year prior.

The number of milk cows on farms in New York state totaled 626,000 head in May, down slightly from 627,000 head in May 2019, NASS reported.

On the milk-price front, New York farmers in April were paid an average of $14.70 per hundredweight, down $3.80 from March, and off $3.50 from April 2019. April’s price data reflected the first full month of the effects of the coronavirus pandemic amid widespread media reports about dairy farmers being forced to dump milk as demand plummeted with restaurants, schools, and workplaces closed.

In neighboring Pennsylvania, dairy farms produced 865 million pounds of milk in May, down 3 percent from 892 million pounds a year before, according to the USDA.