This rate of growth was slightly higher than the 1.4% recorded in March and but in-line with the February growth rate.
Milk production in California is still lagging behind last season as the effects of the drought take their toll. California is the largest milk producing state in the US accounting for approximately 20% of total production.
Wisconsin recorded strong growth with output up 4% year-on-year. Strong growth was also reported in other large milk producing states such as Idaho (+2.4%) and New York (+1.9%).
The number of cows in milk in April expanded by just 1,000 head from the previous month to be 65,000 head up on a year ago. The higher cow numbers accounted for 0.7% of the total growth while gains in productivity accounted for the remaining 1%.
