Milk production expanded 1.6% in January, according to the USDA. The milking herd continued to expand reaching 9.450m cows, a gain of 8,000 head from the previous month and 85,000 higher YOY. That month-on-month growth in cow numbers was lowest since September. The YOY growth in average yield per cow for January was just 0.6%, an 8-month low. January was the eighth consecutive month of expansion in US milk output.

Wisconsin and Texas accounted for half of the YOY growth in January milk production, increasing by 3.1% and 5.3% respectively. There were also strong gains in Minnesota (+5.7%), Michigan (+4.3%) and Indiana (+10.1%). Milk supply in California fell for the second consecutive month however, down 0.7% YOY in January, with YOY declines also in Idaho (-0.3%), Pennsylvania (-0.1%), Florida (-5.1%), Washington (-1.9%) and Oregon (-1.3%).