Feb 10 (Reuters) - U.S. dairy farmers are struggling with mounting losses as milk prices have plunged more than 50 percent since last summer while farm operating costs remain uncomfortably high.
On the more than 60,000 dairy farms in all 50 states, dairy farmers are adjusting feed rations and culling cows from their herds to cope with the losses. Some are losing more than $200 per cow every month and some are exiting the industry.
U.S. milk prices spiked in 2007 to record highs and reached the second highest ever levels in 2008 on rising exports and tight global supplies. But global economic turmoil from mid-2008 has dragged down demand while supplies have grown.
Following are dairy industry statistics compiled from U.S. Agriculture Department data and from industry sources. Annual average U.S. all-milk prices (per one hundred lbs)
2006: $12.88
2007: $19.13
2008: $18.34
2009: $11.80-$12.60 (projected) Top U.S. milk producing states in 2008 (in billion lbs)
1. California: 41.185
2. Wisconsin: 24.460
3. New York: 12.420
4. Idaho: 12.315
5. Pennsylvania: 10.575
Note: The top 5 states accounted for 53 pct of
total U.S. production. U.S. dairy cow herd on Jan. 1 (in million head)
2004: 8.99
2005: 9.01
2006: 9.06
2007: 9.13
2008: 9.26
2009: 9.33 Annual U.S. milk production (in billion lbs)
2004: 170.934
2005: 176.929
2006: 181.796
2007: 185.602
2008: 189.699 Top global producers in 2008 (in million tonnes)
EU-27: 134.000
United States: 86.026
India: 44.100
China: 36.700
Russia: 32.500
Brazil: 28.890
New Zealand: 15.141 (Reporting by Karl Plume, editing by Philip Barbara)