New York milk production rises more than 2 percent in May

New York dairy farms produced 1.32 billion pounds of milk in May, up 2.3 percent from the year-ago period, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reported.

Production per cow in the state averaged 2,120 pounds in May, up nearly 2 percent from 2,085 pounds a year prior.

The number of milk cows on farms in New York state totaled 624,000 head in May, up 4,000 head from May 2016, NASS reported.

The average milk price received by New York dairy farmers in April 2017 was $17.20 per hundredweight, down $1.40 from March, but up $1.10 from April a year ago.

In neighboring Pennsylvania, dairy farms produced 977 million pounds of milk in May, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier.