USDA data show fewer pooled producers from fewer counties, more milk per farm

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Data from two USDA Federal Milk Marketing Order reports show continued consolidation, with fewer pooled producers from fewer U.S. counties marketing more milk per farm.

According to the Origins of Milk Marketings — an annual report using a one-month snapshot— Federal Order (FO) milk marketings came from 1280 U.S. counties in Dec. 2024, down 207 from five years earlier in Dec. 2019, and nearly half (555) fell below 1 million pounds. The number of counties with zero FO milk marketings rose 13.7% to 1829 in the 5-year comparison.

The Origins report is compiled annually by the Central FO (32) market administrator using data from all 11 FOs and is released in July for the previous December. The FO milk marketings totaled 16.3 billion pounds that month, which represented 86% of the NASS-estimated total U.S. milk production.

By contrast, FO milk marketings for all 12 months of 2024 totaled 146.6 billion pounds and represented only 65% of NASS-estimated total U.S. milk production for the year, down from FO-pooled milk representing 70% of production in 2023, according to the separate Measures of Growth in Federal Orders Report. This is released annually in July by the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS).

Despite 2024 pooled milk volume declining 7.5% compared with 2023, daily milk shipments per pooled producer were up 1.1%.

The USDA data from both reports reflect a combination of dairy exits, dairy growth, and shifts to more milk marketings outside the FO system in 2024.

In the county-level snapshot data, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, with 184.2 million pounds in the representative month of Dec. 2024, moved up two spots to 9th among the top 14 U.S. counties that accounted for 25% of the marketings— even though it was one of 812 declining counties and one of 35 down by 5 to 10 million pounds vs. Dec. 2019.

Lancaster County has historically been the only one east of the Mississippi River to land in the top tier. However, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, joined the ranks at 14th in Dec. 2024, with 144 million pounds. It was one of 468 counties that increased and was among the 38 that increased by more than 10 million pounds in the 5-year comparison.

Tulare County, California, continues to hold the top spot with 870.9 million pounds, representing 5.4% of total FO milk marketings in Dec. 2024. Even though Tulare fell by more than 10 million pounds vs. Dec. 2019, it was still 350 million pounds ahead of second-place Merced County, California, which gained over 10 million pounds.

This latest report highlights the continued dominance of California in FO milk marketings, with eight of the top 14 counties. In addition to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, other states that each had one top-tier county include Colorado (Weld), New Mexico (Curry), Texas (Hartley), and Washington (Yakima).

Regional trends

Northeast: Pennsylvania’s Lancaster and Franklin counties both saw declines in December FO milk marketings in 2024 vs. 2019 but continued in the top 55. Pennsylvania had 15 counties that increased FO milk marketings. Of these, Berks, Blair, Chester, Cumberland, Huntingdon, and Lebanon were in the top 157 counties accounting for 75% of the FO milk marketings in Dec. 2024.

• New York’s Cayuga, Genesee, St. Lawrence and Wyoming counties remain in the top 55, all increasing their FO milk marketings. Twenty additional New York counties increased, with 15 of them included in the top 157.

• Vermont’s Franklin County also increased and joined the top 55 ranks.

Southeast: While the southeastern states, including Maryland and Virginia, had no counties in the top 55, a handful in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida were in the top 157. A scattering of increased milk marketings were reported in the 5-year comparison throughout all southeastern states, especially in south and west Georgia and northern Florida.

Mideast: Ohio’s Wayne County increased and joined the top 55, while Michigan added a county to total five in that second tier, and Indiana remained at one. Over half the counties in these three states increased FO milk marketings in Dec. 2024 vs. Dec. 2019, including those already in the top 55.

Upper Midwest: Wisconsin and Minnesota each lost a county among the top 55, now totaling 11 and one, respectively. More than half the counties in Wisconsin saw increased FO milk marketings, most densely in the northeastern and north central counties, while nearly two-thirds of the counties in Minnesota decreased their FO milk marketings, especially in the south central part of the state.

Central U.S.: South Dakota’s Brookings County made its debut in the top 55, alongside two counties in Colorado, and one in Iowa. Most of South Dakota’s eastern counties substantially increased FO milk marketings in the 5-year comparison.

Southwest: Texas maintained seven counties in the top 55 and New Mexico dropped from four in Dec. 2019 to three in Dec. 2024. These counties in the Southwest FO (126) have increased their milk marketings into the Central FO (32) during the past seven years, according to a different USDA report showing pooled milk origins in FO 32.

West: California (9), Arizona (2), Washington (2), and Oregon (1) all maintained their top 55 counties. In addition, unregulated western states had counties that increased their milk marketings into the regulated FO areas in the 5-year comparison: Utah (14), Nevada (3), Idaho (2), and Wyoming (1).

Overall: The counties with the biggest 5-year increases in FO milk marketings—moving east to west—were located in western New York, southern Georgia, western Ohio, the tip of the Michigan thumb, northwestern Indiana, eastern Wisconsin, eastern South Dakota, northwestern Colorado, western Texas, the southeast corner of Arizona, west- central Utah, south-central Nevada, Merced County, California and Morrow County, Oregon.