Final figures are in for 2005 and it was a whopper.  Total milk production jumped 3.5% last year to 177 billion pounds.  That translates into 19,576 pounds per cow, a gain of 609 pounds per cow on a total herd of 9.04 million head.  Those cow numbers were 29,000 above 2004 as well.

Here’s the kicker – total cash receipts from milk marketing was $26.7 billion… 2.4% lower than 2004.  That total is based on a an average return of $15.20/cwt, 5.8% off of 2004.  176 billion pounds marketed was a 3.6% gain, which led to the decline in price.