(NewsDakota.com/NDAgConnection.com) – Milk production in North Dakota during the October-December 2022 quarter totaled 77.0 million pounds, down 6% from the October-December quarter last year, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.

The average number of milk cows was 14,000 head, 1,000 head less than the same period last year.

Milk production in the 24 major States during December totaled 18.1 billion pounds, up 0.9 percent from December 2021. November revised production, at 17.4 billion pounds, was up 1.1 percent from November 2021. The November revision represented a decrease of 49 million pounds or 0.3 percent from last month’s preliminary production estimate.

Production per cow in the 24 major States averaged 2,032 pounds for December, 8 pounds above December 2021. The number of milk cows on farms in the 24 major States was 8.92 million head, 38,000 head more than December 2021, but 9,000 head less than November 2022.

Milk production in the United States during the October – December quarter totaled 56.0 billion pounds, up 1.0 percent from the October – December quarter last year.

The average number of milk cows in the United States during the quarter was 9.41 million head, 4,000 head less than the July – September quarter, but 27,000 head more than the same period last year.