California dairy nose diving as Michigan is on the roll

Michigan’s dairy industry is on a roll. But surprisingly, California’s is not, despite it still the largest U.S. dairy state for both cows and milk, and by a wide margin, but not much is going well in the Golden State these days.

Meanwhile, out in the Upper Midwest just about all that’s dairy in the Great Lakes State seems to be going well, great. According to statistics just released by USDA, Michigan dairy cow numbers climbed in 2015 for the 13th year in a row, while California’s fell slightly for the second time in three years.

Michigan’s total milk production gained 6,7% for the year and is up 23% the last decade. California, however, dropped 3,4% for the year and is up just 1,3% for the decade. Even so, California is still roughly four times the size of Michigan in both total cows and total milk. Michigan’s production average has gone up 1 853 pounds in the last five years, nearly 50 percent more than the U.S. rate of increase.

Average herd size in Michigan was 217 head, three above the national average. California’s average was 1 214. To read more, click HERE.