Description: This chart shows for each month over the last five years in Wisconsin the number of dairy herds, dairy cows, and pounds of milk sold on the left axis scale and the average all-milk price received in Wisconsin on the right axis. The results suggest rather constant declines in herd and cow numbers, with increasing monthly volatility in milk output and milk price. The chart also illustrates the dramatic highs and lows of the all-milk price received in Wisconsin in recent years. December of 1998 saw a historic all time high in the nominal milk price at $18.64 per hundredweight. This historic high was followed by a decline to a low but relatively stable price of $12.50 by the end of 2000. 2001 saw increased volatility but relatively high average prices, which has reversed in 2002 with prices dropping to a historic low of $10.90 in August 2002.

Source: The data come from published statistics compiled by the Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service (WASS), a division of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection. For more recent data, visit their web site at: http://www.nass.usda.gov/wi/