US milk production expanded 1.8% in March according to the USDA. That followed a revised leap year-adjusted 2.3% YOY growth in February, and a 2.4% YOY expansion in January. The milking herd continued to expand, reaching 9.468m cows in March, a gain of 8,000 head from the previous month (February data was revised) and 77,000 higher YOY. That month-on-month growth in cow numbers was lower than February (13,000 head). The YOY growth in average yield per cow for March was 1%, a 9-month low. March was the tenth consecutive month of expansion in US milk output.

Wisconsin, Minnesota and Texas jointly accounted for 61% of the national YOY milk growth in March, increasing by 3.7%, 7.6% and 3.9% respectively. There were also strong YOY gains in Colorado (4.4%), Michigan (3.5%), Indiana (10%) and South Dakota (13.4%). Output growth in California has patchy in recent months and increased 1.5% YOY in March.