For the first time since June 2023, US milk production has been back in positive territory since August. Twelve of the top 23 states were either unchanged or higher vs. year ago for October milk production. The growth in milk solids has been more impressive given the incentive to produce milk with higher butterfat and protein. Milk per cow is growing as strong profits are an incentive to boost output as much as possible. Cow numbers finally increased with the national dairy herd in October exceeding the prior year for the first time since May 2023. The outlook for milk production is generally positive given momentum building in milk per cow growth and a very profitable margin forecast. The risk to the outlook is HPAI (bird flu) in California. In October, milk production fell 3.8% with the disease spreading to 402 herds (38% of state total) as of November 22. Given the experience in poultry, HPAI/bird flu will likely return in 2025.