The chair of the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF) says dairy farmers are remaining “resilient” in the face of H5N1 outbreaks. Rusty Halvorson has the story.
At the organization’s recent annual meeting in Phoenix, Arizona, Randy Mooney said dairy persists in its best practices in biosecurity and works with government officials, veterinarians and scientists to understand, contain and prevent highly pathogenic avian influenza in dairy cattle.
Dairy producers in the past year have grappled with HPAI and delays on a farm bill that expired in September – even as milk prices have risen and consumer demand has remained strong.
The NMPF meeting in Phoenix drew roughly 750 attendees and featured breakout sessions on industry topics ranging from an economic outlook to the National Dairy Farmers Assuring Responsible Management (FARM) Program’s Environmental Stewardship updates, to be released Oct. 31.
Meanwhile, USDA says September milk production in the 24 highest-producing states reached 17.5 billion pounds in September, 0.2 percent higher than September 2023.
Production per cow in the 24 states averaged 1,966 pounds for September, eight pounds higher than September 2023.
The number of milk cows on farms in those 24 states totaled 8.89 million head, 200,000 less than in September 2023.