California’s Dairy Industry in 2017 For California in 2017, compared to the previous year, total milk production was down 1.7 percent, the number of dairy cows declined 0.2 percent, milk per cow dropped 1.5 percent, and the number of dairies decreased by 4.4 percent. The 12-month average price paid to California producers for farm milk in 2017 was $16.50 per …