U.S. milk production up slightly

Oct 20, 2023

The USDA says September milk production in the 24 major dairy states totaled 17.5 billion pounds, which was slightly more than September of 2022. The revised August 2023 production was 18.1 billion pounds, down seven-tenths of a percent from a year ago.

Production per cow averaged 1,960 pounds in September, three pounds per cow more than a year ago.

The total U.S. milk cow herd during the third quarter averaged 9.38 million head, down 43-thousand head from the 2nd quarter and 33-thousand fewer head than the 3rd quarter of 2022.

California still has the most milk cows with 1.7 million head, followed by Wisconsin with 1.2 million head.

Michigan producers continue to lead the nation in milk-per-cow averaging 2,335 pounds per cow, with Colorado in 2nd with 2,215 pounds per cow and Idaho with 2,205 pounds per cow.

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Video: Validating Net Energy in Commercial Swine Systems - Gustavo Lima

In this episode of The Swine Nutrition Blackbelt Podcast, Gustavo Lima, PhD candidate at Iowa State University, explains how soybean meal net energy is evaluated using growth assays and calorimetry. He discusses caloric efficiency, validation under commercial conditions, and differences between controlled and real-world environments. Gustavo also highlights practical implications for diet formulation and ingredient valuation. Listen now on all major platforms!

“Indirect calorimetry provides a precise estimation of ingredient energy, yet validation under production conditions remains essential for accurate application in real systems.”

Meet the guest: Gustavo Lima / gustavo-lima-a9867127 is a PhD candidate in Animal Science at Iowa State University, specializing in swine nutrition, ingredient evaluation, and energy metabolism. With over 15 years of experience across Latin America, his work focuses on soybean meal utilization, caloric efficiency, and applied research for commercial production systems.