WASHINGTON — Milk production in the 23 major producing states totaled 15.31 billion lbs in August, down slightly from 15.34 billion lbs in August 2011, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in its latest Milk Production report.

Milk production for July was revised to 15.5 billion lbs, up 1% from July 2011 and a decrease of 24 million lbs from last month’s preliminary production estimate.

August production per cow in the 23 major states averaged 1,803 lbs, down 10 lbs from August 2011. There were 8.5 million dairy cows on farms during the month, 32,000 head more than in August 2011 but 4,000 less than July 2012.