New York milk production rises nearly 4 percent in March

New York dairy farms produced 1.28 billion pounds of milk, up 3.6 percent from the year-ago period, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported.

Production per cow averaged 2,060 pounds in March, up 65 pounds from a year prior.

The number of milk cows on farms in New York state totaled 622,000 head in March, up 2,000 head from March 2016, NASS reported.

New York dairy farmers received $19.10 per hundredweight of milk in February, down 60 cents from January, but up $2.40 from February 2016.

In neighboring Pennsylvania, milk production totaled 966 million pounds in March, up 3 percent from a year earlier. The average milk price received by Pennsylvania dairy farmers was $19.60 per hundredweight in February, down 40 cents from January, but up $2.50 from February a year ago.

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