USDA: New York tops all states in yogurt production in 2013

New York state was the nation’s top yogurt producer for the second straight year in 2013, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Gov. Andrew Cuomo made the announcement Tuesday.

Preliminary data indicates that New York produced 741 million pounds of yogurt in  2013, up from 695 million pounds in 2012.

The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) compiled the data, the governor’s office said in a news release.

New York topped California, which produced 591 million pounds of yogurt in 2013. For the entire country, USDA NASS reported total yogurt production of 4.7 billion pounds in 2013, up from more than 4.4 billion pounds in 2012.

New York state, which is home to Norwich–based Greek-yogurt powerhouse Chobani, accounted for nearly 16 percent of total U.S. yogurt production in 2013.

New York has earned the distinction as the “yogurt capital of the nation” for the second year in a row, Cuomo boasted in the release.

His office noted that this announcement comes on the heels of the May 15 announcement that Brecksville, Ohio–based Agrana Fruit US, Inc., the top producer of fruit preparations for the dairy industry, completed construction on its new manufacturing and distribution operation in Lysander.

In addition, New York earlier this year surpassed Idaho as the third highest producer of milk in the nation in 2013, the governor’s office added.  Chobani also has a major manufacturing plant in Idaho.

New York’s dairy manufacturers in 2013 employed an estimated 9,470 people with total wages of $513 million, up from more than 7,700 jobs and $400 million in wages in 2010, Cuomo’s office said.

Cash receipts from the marketing of milk in New York increased from $2.21 billion in 2010 to $2.85 billion in 2013, according to the USDA NASS.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com