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U.S. farm indicators

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This page provides data on milk production and farms indicators the United States.

Milk production and the number of dairy cows are reported quarterly for all 50 states and organized by region (Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, South Central, Southwest, Northwest, Alaska, and Hawaii) according to USDA classifications. For some states, monthly data are also available. Monthly information on milk quality, including fat and protein content, is provided as well.

A table showing milk yield per cow (in pounds) allows you to monitor productivity on a monthly basis across many U.S. states.

Farm indicators data are presented annually, including the number of farms, total usable land area, and average land per farm. Data specifically for dairy farms (those with at least one dairy cow) are based on census information and provide detailed insights into this subset of farms.

Analysis on Costs and Income of U.S. Dairy Farms »


 
2015 2017
MILK PRODUCTION (quarterly and monthly) 2016 - Tons
Regions and States Jan-Mar Apr-Jun Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Tot. 2016 ± on
2015 *
MIDWEST U.S. 8.183.798 +5,5% 8.417.854 +3,9% 8.206.024 +3,0% 8.160.210 +2,7% 32.967.885 +3,8%
SOUTHWEST U.S. 5.566.543 -1,6% 5.599.655 -2,4% 5.280.323 -0,9% 5.352.445 +1,2% 21.798.966 -1,0%
NORTHEAST U.S. 3.488.025 +3,4% 3.608.999 +2,5% 3.506.396 +1,8% 3.483.308 +2,8% 14.086.728 +2,6%
SOUTH CENTRAL U.S. 3.074.934 -1,8% 3.224.168 -0,2% 3.147.056 +3,4% 3.229.157 +6,8% 12.675.315 +2,0%
NORTHWEST U.S. 2.698.630 +3,3% 2.793.069 +1,6% 2.839.563 +3,7% 2.710.560 +2,1% 11.041.822 +2,7%
SOUTHEAST U.S. 1.013.336 -0,9% 1.001.542 -2,7% 866.824 -4,1% 897.215 -2,3% 3.778.917 -2,5%
OTHER STATES 4.218 -4,1% 4.808 -2,8% 4.173 -3,2% 4.218 +10,7% 17.418 -0,3%
National Jan-Mar Apr-Jun Jul-Sep Oct-Dec Total
US 2016 24.029.484 24.650.095 23.850.358 23.837.113 96.367.051
Variation on 2015 +2,0% +1,1% +1,8% +2,6% +1,9%
US 2015 23.554.341 24.375.805 23.425.837 23.222.489 94.578.472
* % change from same period of previous year.
Other States includes Alaska and Hawaii.
Source: USDA
2015 2017
MILK PRODUCTION / COW (monthly) 2016 - Pounds
Regions and States Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Tot.
2016
± on
2015 *
MIDWEST U.S. 1.940 1.834 1.984 1.942 2.031 1.945 1.966 1.946 1.867 1.919 1.872 1.938 23.183 +3,1%
SOUTHWEST U.S. 1.950 1.881 2.054 1.984 2.029 1.917 1.921 1.871 1.806 1.882 1.843 1.942 23.082 -0,2%
NORTHEAST U.S. 1.845 1.746 1.890 1.860 1.951 1.876 1.899 1.862 1.805 1.861 1.795 1.878 22.268 +3,1%
SOUTH CENTRAL U.S. 1.911 1.874 2.067 2.027 2.073 1.953 1.985 2.002 1.889 1.959 1.930 1.993 23.663 +1,4%
NORTHWEST U.S. 1.973 1.884 2.041 1.991 2.079 2.032 2.101 2.087 1.991 2.010 1.918 1.972 24.079 +1,8%
SOUTHEAST U.S. 1.745 1.656 1.816 1.780 1.804 1.677 1.620 1.566 1.481 1.523 1.570 1.687 19.925 -1,4%
National Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Tot. 2016
US 2016 1.925 1.840 2.002 1.954 2.025 1.934 1.958 1.934 1.855 1.911 1.862 1.936 23.135,55
Variation on 2015 +0,1% +4,6% +1,7% +0,9% +1,1% +1,5% +1,5% +1,7% +2,2% +2,3% +2,4% +1,9% +1,8%
US 2015 1.924 1.759 1.969 1.936 2.003 1.906 1.929 1.902 1.814 1.867 1.817 1.900 22.725
* % change from same period of previous year.
Source: USDA
  Min Production / Cow
  Max Production / Cow
2015 2017
NUMBER OF DAIRY COWS (quarterly and monthly) 2016
Regions and States Jan-Mar Apr-Jun Jul-Sep Oct-Dec 2016 ± on 2015 *
MIDWEST U.S. 3.157.000 +29.000 3.163.000 +24.000 3.165.000 +22.000 3.166.000 +17.000 3.166.000 +0,5% +17.000
SOUTHWEST U.S. 2.088.000 -16.000 2.085.000 -17.000 2.080.000 -18.000 2.083.000 -7.000 2.083.000 -0,3% -7.000
NORTHEAST U.S. 1.415.300 +400 1.415.300 -2.100 1.412.300 -6.100 1.407.300 -9.600 1.407.300 -0,7% -9.600
SOUTH CENTRAL U.S. 1.203.500 -25.500 1.218.000 -9.000 1.240.000 +19.000 1.265.000 +48.000 1.265.000 +3,9% +48.000
NORTHWEST U.S. 1.012.000 +9.000 1.013.000 +7.000 1.019.000 +14.000 1.018.000 +8.000 1.018.000 +0,8% +8.000
SOUTHEAST U.S. 434.000 -1.000 429.000 -6.000 417.000 -13.500 417.500 -13.000 417.500 -3,0% -13.000
OTHER STATES 2.700 +200 2.800 +200 2.700 +200 2.700 +200 2.700 +8,0% +200
National Jan-Mar Apr-Jun Jul-Sep Oct-Dec 2016
US 2016 9.315.200 9.328.900 9.338.700 9.362.200 9.362.200
Change n ° heads on previous quarter -3.200 +13.700 +9.800 +23.500 +23.500
Change n ° heads on 2015 -3.700 -2.700 +17.800 +43.800 +43.800
US 2015 9.318.900 9.331.600 9.320.900 9.318.400 9.318.400
* % change from same period of previous year.
Other States includes Alaska and Hawaii.

Source: USDA
NUMBER OF FARMS - yearly
Regions and States 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 ± on 2020
MIDWEST U.S. 645.400 641.200 634.700 624.500 622.300 616.700 611.200 -4,7% (-30000 farms)
SOUTHWEST U.S. 108.700 107.500 104.900 100.300 99.800 98.000 97.400 -9,4% (-10100 farms)
NORTHEAST U.S. 141.800 140.900 138.850 135.150 135.150 133.900 132.900 -5,7% (-8000 farms)
SOUTH CENTRAL U.S. 604.500 599.300 588.400 564.700 563.400 559.800 555.800 -7,3% (-43500 farms)
NORTHWEST U.S. 134.400 133.300 130.900 125.300 124.900 124.100 123.100 -7,7% (-10200 farms)
SOUTHEAST U.S. 364.500 361.800 353.800 342.900 341.600 339.800 336.900 -6,9% (-24900 farms)
ALASKA 1.100 1.100 1.100 1.200 1.200 1.200 1.200 +9,1% (+100 farms)
HAWAII 7.200 7.100 6.900 6.600 6.600 6.500 6.500 -8,5% (-600 farms)
National 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
US 2.008.190 1.992.820 1.960.220 1.901.380 1.896.750 1.881.690 1.866.690
Variation on previous year -0,8% -0,8% -1,6% -3,0% -0,2% -0,8% -0,8%
Source: USDA
LAND IN FARMS (1000 Acres) - yearly
Regions and States 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 ± on 2020
MIDWEST U.S. 111.427 111.184 110.577 109.444 109.444 109.282 108.959 -2,0%
SOUTHWEST U.S. 27.149 27.108 27.027 26.744 26.380 26.339 26.259 -3,1%
NORTHEAST U.S. 8.569 8.521 8.456 8.310 8.310 8.310 8.266 -3,0%
SOUTH CENTRAL U.S. 132.142 131.900 131.333 129.755 129.674 129.229 128.825 -2,3%
NORTHWEST U.S. 52.112 52.032 51.829 51.425 51.425 51.303 51.222 -1,6%
SOUTHEAST U.S. 29.900 29.819 29.617 29.455 29.455 29.374 29.293 -1,8%
ALASKA 344 344 344 352 352 352 352 +2,4%
HAWAII 445 445 425 425 425 425 425 -4,5%
National 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
US 362.178 361.458 359.718 356.036 355.660 354.814 353.798
Variation on previous year -0,4% -0,2% -0,5% -1,0% -0,1% -0,2% -0,3%
Source: USDA
AVERAGE FARM SIZE (Acres) - yearly
Regions and States 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 ± on 2020
MIDWEST U.S. 173 173 174 175 176 177 178 +2,8%
SOUTHWEST U.S. 250 252 258 267 264 269 270 +6,9%
NORTHEAST U.S. 60 60 61 61 61 62 62 +2,8%
SOUTH CENTRAL U.S. 219 220 223 230 230 231 232 +5,3%
NORTHWEST U.S. 388 390 396 410 412 413 416 +6,6%
SOUTHEAST U.S. 82 82 84 86 86 86 87 +5,5%
ALASKA 313 313 313 293 293 293 293 -6,2%
HAWAII 62 63 62 64 64 65 65 +4,3%
National 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
US 180 181 184 187 188 189 190
Variation on previous year +0,3% +0,6% +1,2% +2,0% +0,1% +0,6% +0,5%
Source: USDA
View the PDF file of dairy companies (source: USDA)
DAIRY farms with at least one milking cow (censuses)
Regions and States 2012 2017 2022 ± on 2017
MIDWEST U.S. 31.121 25.428 16.945 -33,4% (-8483 az.ag.)
SOUTHWEST U.S. 2.703 2.345 1.621 -30,9% (-724 az.ag.)
NORTHEAST U.S. 16.490 14.173 8.546 -39,7% (-5627 az.ag.)
SOUTH CENTRAL U.S. 6.198 5.033 3.778 -24,9% (-1255 az.ag.)
NORTHWEST U.S. 3.021 2.674 1.914 -28,4% (-760 az.ag.)
SOUTHEAST U.S. 4.525 4.899 3.170 -35,3% (-1729 az.ag.)
ALASKA 28 27 28 +3,7% (+1 az.ag.)
HAWAII 12 20 22 +10,0% (+2 az.ag.)
Nazional 2012 2017 2022
US 64.098 54.599 36.024
Change from previous census - -14,8% -34,0%
Source: USDA
2015 2017
PERCENT FAT CONTENT IN MILK (monthly) 2016 - w/w
Regions and States Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Avg
2016
Avg
2015
MIDWEST U.S. 3,92 3,90 3,85 3,83 3,76 3,69 3,68 3,68 3,76 3,87 3,92 3,99 3,82 3,79
SOUTHWEST U.S. 3,83 3,74 3,69 3,66 3,65 3,61 3,58 3,59 3,71 3,77 3,79 3,88 3,71 3,64
NORTHEAST U.S. 3,89 3,89 3,85 3,82 3,77 3,67 3,66 3,65 3,72 3,84 3,92 3,96 3,80 3,78
SOUTH CENTRAL U.S. 3,86 3,77 3,72 3,70 3,66 3,60 3,56 3,60 3,71 3,76 3,81 3,91 3,72 3,69
NORTHWEST U.S. 4,05 3,98 3,91 3,85 3,85 3,83 3,82 3,79 3,89 3,99 4,03 4,12 3,93 3,87
SOUTHEAST U.S. 3,72 3,74 3,65 3,59 3,58 3,57 3,57 3,59 3,65 3,73 3,77 3,81 3,66 3,64
National Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Avg
US 2016 3,89 3,85 3,80 3,76 3,72 3,67 3,65 3,65 3,74 3,84 3,89 3,96 3,77
US 2015 3,85 3,82 3,79 3,72 3,67 3,63 3,60 3,62 3,69 3,80 3,88 3,90 3,73
Source: USDA
2015 2017
PERCENTAGE OF TRUE PROTEIN IN MILK (monthly)2016 - w/w
Regions Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Average
2016
Average
2015
UPPER MIDWEST 3,18 3,15 3,12 3,11 3,08 3,03 2,98 3,00 3,08 3,16 3,18 3,21 3,11 3,10
SOUTHWEST 3,26 3,22 3,20 3,16 3,13 3,08 3,04 3,07 3,15 3,25 3,27 3,30 3,18 3,16
CENTRAL 3,24 3,19 3,16 3,14 3,11 3,03 3,01 3,03 3,11 3,19 3,23 3,26 3,14 3,13
NORTHEAST 3,14 3,13 3,10 3,09 3,06 3,01 2,98 2,99 3,07 3,16 3,18 3,18 3,09 3,07
MIDEAST 3,18 3,15 3,11 3,10 3,07 3,02 2,99 3,00 3,04 3,15 3,20 3,22 3,10 3,09
PACIFIC NORTHWEST 3,30 3,24 3,19 3,16 3,20 3,18 3,17 3,12 3,21 3,29 3,27 3,34 3,22 3,18
Nazional Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Average
US 2016 3,20 3,17 3,13 3,12 3,09 3,04 3,01 3,01 3,09 3,18 3,20 3,23 3,12
US 2015 3,17 3,16 3,13 3,09 3,05 3,01 2,99 3,02 3,07 3,18 3,21 3,20 3,11
Source: USDA
Note: The true protein test for cow's milk determines the actual protein content by subtracting the non-protein nitrogen from the total protein measurement.
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