Milk production expanded by 3.1% in December, according to the USDA Milk Production report. The milking herd continued to expand reaching 9.443 million cows, a gain of 12,000 from the previous month and 107,000 higher YOY. The production report also included an upwards revision in the November production data, which was restated to a 3.4% increase over the prior year.

Indiana and South Dakota recorded the largest YOY percentage gains in December, up 9.8% and 11.9% respectively. The largest absolute contributions to milk output growth were from California and Texas, up 3.2% and 7.5% respectively. Overall, it was the seventh consecutive month of expansion in national milk output.