For the first six months of 2007, California continued the trend of increased milk production, however, by early Spring, because of the strong demand for U.S. dairy products, particularly world demand, the low milk prices of 2006 were a distant memory. The principal suppliers of dairy commodities on the World Market have declining supplies available to satisfy the world demand, thus increasing the demand for whey protein and whey products. Milk production in California reflected an average growth rate of 3.7 percent for the first six months of 2007, compared to the 12-month average growth rate in 2006 of 3.4 percent. For each of the first six months of 2007, California recorded milk production over three billion pounds. U.S. overall milk production also showed an increase and at times, plants across the country (including California) scrambled for plant capacity to handle the surplus milk supply. For the U.S. overall, USDA June 2007 reports indicate that compared to 2006, milk production was up 1.0 percent, cow numbers decreased by 10,000, and average production per cow was up 20 pounds per cow.