Kansas posts biggest gain in milk production; now ranked 16th in U.S.

Kansas’ milk production grew at the fastest rate in the country last year, increasing 7.3 percent, according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture.

The state ranks 16th in the nation for milk production, with 2.9 billion pounds produced. That is 1.5 percent of the nation’s total production in 2013.

Kansas dairies posted the third largest gain in actual pounds of milk produced in 2013, only trailing much larger producers Wisconsin and New York.

That state has seen rapid growth in dairies over the last decade. A large new dairy and a new dairy processing plant opened in western Kansas in late 2012.

Kansas has more than 300 dairy farms and 137,000 dairy cows, which produced milk valued at nearly $592 million last year, according to the state. The industry supports 492 jobs.

This story was originally published February 26, 2014 at 10:31 AM with the headline "Kansas posts biggest gain in milk production; now ranked 16th in U.S. ."