Where are the Most Productive Cows?

In the last post, the long term economic impact of increasing components was reviewed.  One of the reasons components increased was by increasing milk production.  Over the last 23 years milk production per cow increased by 30%. There have been many questions on this, so this post will cover more details on the increase in milk production per cow.  In some states there have been no increases in milk production per cow and the biggest increase was 90%.

To review where the cows are, below in Table I, the 10 largest milk producing states are listed.  California and Wisconsin make up nearly 32% of the total U.S. dairy cows.  Idaho, Texas, and New York make up another 20%.  Pennsylvania, Minnesota, and Michigan make up 11% and New Mexico and Washington make up 6%.

States with the Most Cows

Table I - States with the
Most Cows in 2022

States with the Most Milk per Cow

The 10 states with the largest milk per cow are listed in Table II.  Six of the 10 largest milk per cow states listed in Table II and listed in the top ten largest dairy states in Table I and most are in the top five in dairy cows.  Missing in Table II is the largest dairy state, California.  Wyoming is a very small dairy state with a very high ranking in milk per cow.  Nebraska, New Mexico, and Nevada made the top ten in milk per cow, but are much lower in total dairy cows.

Table II - States with the Highest
Milk per Cow in 2022

Conclusion:  The largest dairy states (Table I) tend to use the most productive and financially sound methods for low cost and high revenue milk production. 

States with the Largest Increases in Milk per Cow

Table III lists the 10 states with the largest percent increase in milk per cow over 23 years.   Again, four of the 10 listed are in the 10 largest dairy states.  They are Texas, Wisconsin, New York, and Michigan.  Again, the largest dairy state, California, is not in the list.

Table III - States with the Largest
Percent Increase in Milk per Cow

How did the Four Large Dairy States Attain the Best Growth in Milk per Cow?

Charts I through IV below show the increases in milk per cow for the four large dairy states that have the largest and fastest growth.  They all show extremely similar and consistent growth over a long term.

Chart I - Texas Annual Milk per Cow

Chart II - Wisconsin Annual Milk per Cow

Chart III - Michigan Annual Milk per Cow

Chart IV - New York Annual Milk per Cow

Which States have the lowest growth rate in the U.S.?

Table IV lists the 11 states that have the slowest growth in milk per cow.  The list includes 11 to capture California, the largest dairy state in the U.S.   Why is California ranked near the bottom in its ability to increase milk per cow?  

Table IV - Slowest Milk per Cow
Growth States

Conclusion

Some states seem to be leading the trend to cows with higher productivity.  There are many things that can influence milk productivity.  One recent paper detailed the influence of cow comfort.  There are of course many other factors that influence milk per cow.  There is no doubt that higher milk productivity can increase revenue and cash flow.

For companies providing advice on increasing productivity, it makes sense to market to the states that seem to have the most interest in increasing productivity.