Idaho is closing in on New York’s No. 3 spot in U.S. milk production, coming within 4 million pounds of out-producing the Empire State in September.
In September, Idaho produced 979 million pounds of milk while New York produced 983 million pounds.
That’s an astounding achievement, he added, considering that 10 years ago, Idaho was No. 9. In 1998, it blew by Texas, Michigan and Washington to claim the No. 6 spot. Five years later, it overtook Minnesota for No. 5. Last year, it bumped off Pennsylvania for No. 4.
With Idaho cows producing 63 pounds of milk per day vs. 52 pounds per day for New York cows, it would seem it’s only a matter of time before Idaho claims the No. 3 spot.
Idaho has the opposite problem. Whereas milk production per cow in Idaho was 19,092 pounds in 1997, it was 22,326 in 2006. Idaho produced 5.2 billion pounds of milk in 1997, but that total soared to 10.9 billion pounds in 2006.
While New York is well within range, major changes would have to occur before Idaho passed California and Wisconsin, the top two milk-producing states in the nation, respectively. The Golden State produces roughly three times as much milk as Idaho, and Wisconsin is not far behind California.