# Dairy Cows Are Producing More Protein and Butterfat Than Ever. What’s Driving It?

> A CoBank report found that average US milk butterfat content increased from 3.71% in 2011 to 4.32% in 2025, while protein content rose from 3.08% to 3.32%. Higher component levels can increase milk revenue per cow, and the article attributes improvement to breeding, feeding and management practices.

- Date: 2026-11-09 · published 2026-11-09T12:08:13.572Z
- Category: report · region United States · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/89311-dairy-cows-are-producing-more-protein-and-butterfat-than-ever-what-s-driving-it
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

Rising component yields can increase the supply of valuable milk solids without an equivalent increase in milk volume, potentially affecting dairy-product availability and prices; the overall price direction is unclear.

## Read by commodity

- MILK: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2025-01-06 | [USDA Dairy Production Report: Surprising Trends in Cheese, Butter, and Milk Output for November 2024 \| The Bullvine](https://feedsoft.ai/events/26522-usda-dairy-production-report-surprising-trends-in-cheese-butter-and-milk-output.md) | -1.3% | -0.4% |
| MILK | 2026-09-03 | [USDA Dairy Products Report July 2026: Cheese, Butter, and Dry Milk Trends - News and Statistics - IndexBox](https://feedsoft.ai/events/17489-usda-dairy-products-report-july-2026-cheese-butter-and-dry-milk-trends-news-and.md) | -0.8% | -7.3% |
| MILK | 2020-01-31 | [Two thirds of EU milk used to make cheese and butter - Products Eurostat News - Eurostat](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55102-two-thirds-of-eu-milk-used-to-make-cheese-and-butter-products-eurostat-news.md) | -0.5% | -0.4% |
| MILK | 2018-04-27 | [USDA says most dairy products had more production in 2017 - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/65511-usda-says-most-dairy-products-had-more-production-in-2017-brownfield-ag-news.md) | +4.2% | +4.7% |
| MILK | 2025-07-21 | [U.S. Dairy Industry Sees Growth in Production and Global Demand - Dairy Producer](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23753-u-s-dairy-industry-sees-growth-in-production-and-global-demand-dairy-producer.md) | -0.7% | -0.3% |

## Sources

- agriculture.com: https://www.agriculture.com/dairy-cows-are-producing-more-protein-and-butterfat-than-ever-what-s-driving-it-12240688

---
Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.