The latest USDA Milk Production Report revealed that production jumped 19 billion pounds. That is 1% higher than last year. The February numbers were also revised to show a 26 million pound gain, which was a 0.2% gain.

These production increases coincided with an increase in dairy herd numbers. The number of cows increased by 72,000 to 8.96 million head from last year. The average annual production reached 2,125 pounds per cow. This was an increase of four pounds per cow from last year.

Phil Plourd, president of Ever.Ag Insights, said that while the latest numbers in the Milk Production Report fell slightly short of expectations, the outlook remains positive with steady increases in milk production and cow numbers.

On a quarterly basis, U.S. milk production decreased 0.3% from January to March to come in at 56.6 billion pounds. There were 9.4 million milk cows. This exceeded the previous quarter by 36,000 head and the same time last year by 58,000 head.

Read more on continued dairy herd growth here.