According to USDA, Nov ’14 U.S. milk production was up 3.4% YOY, at 16,540 million pounds. The YOY percentage increase in production was slightly lower than the implied USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate of 4.0% YOY growth throughout the remainder of 2014. U.S. milk production gains have accelerated on a YOY basis throughout the past several months as shown below, however Nov ’14 YOY production growth of 3.4% was slightly less than the 3Q ’14 production growth of 3.6%. YOY production gains on a percentage basis were led by Utah (+7.9%), Texas (+7.7%), Colorado (+7.7%) and Michigan (+7.0%). Illinois and New Mexico were the only two of the 23 monitored states to experience a YOY decline in milk production, with production declining 4.0% and 0.5%, respectively. The U.S. milk cow herd increased MOM for the 11th time in the last 12 months in Nov ’14, with the number of milk cows on farms increasing by 4,000 head over the Oct ’14 revised figure. The total milk cow herd stands at 9,280,000 head, a five and a half year high and 82,000 head more than November of last year. Milk per cow yield was up 2.4% YOY, increasing to a new November record of 1,782 lbs.