World milk production is slowing

Combined milk collections among these top four exporters fell in the red for the first time in two years. In the United States, milk production totaled 18.8 billion pounds in August, 1.1% more than last year. That's the smallest year-on-year growth since June 2020, when the pandemic paralyzed processors and some dairy producers were forced to halt. High temperatures across much of the country and unusually humid conditions in the Southwest added to a lot of stress. The national average milk production did not reach the levels of a year ago, an exceptionally rare occurrence. The dairy herd remains large, driving modest growth in milk production. Last month there were 9.48 million cows giving milk in the United States, 106,000 more than in August 2020. But dairy farmers are rapidly reducing the size of the herd. They milked 19,000 fewer cows in August than in July, the steepest month-to-month drop in nearly three years. Slaughter volumes suggest that the contraction continues as low ...