North Dakota milk production drops 7 percent in second quarter; US production up 2 percent

Milk production in North Dakota during April, May and June was down 7 percent from the second quarter of 2013.

The Agriculture Department says production during the three-month period this year totaled 83 million pounds, down from 89 million pounds the previous year. The average number of milk cows during the quarter was 16,500.

Milk production nationally during the second quarter totaled 52.8 billion pounds, up 1.6 percent over the year.