DAIRY REVIEW 

 1979 



HILK PRODUCTION : 



Milk production during 1979 totaled 563 million pounds down 1 percent from the previous year's produc- 

 tion of 571 million pounds. Production per cow at 12,511 pounds continued an upward trend that started in 

 1974 and has set new records each of the last three years. The number of dairy cows during 1979 averaged 

 45,000 head, down 3,000 head from 1978. The decrease in the number of milk cows continued the long term 

 downward trend. 

 MILK DISPOSITION AND BLEND PRICE : 



Farmers in Massachusetts marketed a total of 554,000,000 pounds of milk during 1979, down 1 percent 

 from 1978. Of the total amount marketed, 13,500,000 pounds were retailed directly to consumers by farm- 

 ers, compared with 14,900,000 pounds in 1978. Milk used on farms totaled 9,000,000 pounds, of which 

 4,000,000 pounds were for food and drink, unchanged from 1978. The other 5,000,000 pounds were fed to 

 calves, the same as in 1978. 



The annual wholesale milk blend price averaged $12.80 per hundredweight for 1979, $1.30 higher than 

 in 1978. The blend price during the year had a low of $12.00 per hundredweight in May and June and a high 

 of $13.90 in November. The total cash receipts from marketings of milk and cream during 1979 was 

 $73,404,000, up $6,054,000 from the 1978 total of $67,829,000. 

 MANUFACTURED DAIRY PRODUCTS : 



A total of 6,255,000 pounds of cheese was produced in Massachusetts during 1979,. down 20 percent from 

 the 1978 production of 7,780,000 pounds. Ice cream production totaled 42,463,000 gallons, down 1 percent 

 from 1978. The production of ice milk totaled 10,454,000 gallons, up 7 percent from 1978. Milk sherbet 

 production totaled 1,829,000 gallons, down 13 percent from the previous year. 



