In Ag news, the USDA has released its latest numbers on egg and milk production, with mixed results for Indiana farmers.

Indiana’s farmers raised 38 million egg-laying hens in December month, a 6% increase over last year. Those hens produced 961 million eggs, up 7% from December 2023. That’s according to the US Department of Agriculture’s National Ag Statistics Service.

Nationally, egg production declined. U.S. farms laid 9.12 billion eggs in December, a 3% drop from a year ago, as fewer hens were raised nationwide.

Meanwhile, turkey egg production also fell slightly, with 24.7 million eggs in incubators on January 1, down 1% from last year.

Meanwhile, Indiana dairy farmers saw a small increase in milk production in December.

The state’s dairy herds produced 382 million pounds of milk, up nearly 1% from the same time in 2023. The average Indiana cow produced 2,010 pounds of milk, 15 pounds more than the previous December, while the size of the herd stayed steady at 190,000 head.

Nationwide, milk production in the top 24 states was down slightly, totaling 18 billion pounds for the month. Fewer cows and lower output per cow drove the decline.