For the first time this year, milk production in the United States is showing growth figures again. Data just published from the USDA suggests milk production in June amounted to 8.22 million tonnes. This is an increase of 0.3% compared with the same period last year.

Although the percentage lift is small, this was the first time in 2022 that milk production in the US shows growth figures again.

How did it happen?

The growth is due to the fact that dairy farmers are keeping more cows.

Compared with May, the number of dairy cows in the US increased by 4,000 to 8.93 million. This has broken the downward trend.

It is very likely that the increase is related to the sharp rise in milk prices, just as in Europe. In May, the American milk price (class 3) converted to more than €55 per 100kg - similar to what many European farmers are getting.

While the milk price is breaking records and is still rising, feed prices are falling. This is a result of the more relaxed grain market worldwide.

These ingredients might be the catalyst for further increases in milk production in the coming months.

Milk production in New Zealand reached the seasonal trough in June and will soon start rising again. The supply in June was exactly the same as last year.

June New Zealand milk production amounted to 234,000t tonnes In the months preceeding June, milk supply was constantly below the previous year.