Of all the things to be proud of in Colorado, add this: The state is among the nation’s top milk producers, ranking 15th in 2008, according to the Northern Colorado Business Report, producing 2.9 million pounds of milk from 128,000 cows. “Colorado saw the largest percentage increase in dairy cattle numbers among the nation’s top 25 dairy states in 2008,” said Walt Cooley, managing editor for Progressive Dairyman magazine, which compiled the data (via the Denver Business Journal). And that’s an accomplishment, considering just 8 percent of Colorado’s agricultural receipts come from the dairy sector. In other bovine news, three cows were killed and mutilated in southern Colorado this month, leading the Humane Society of the United States to offer a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible, reports News 5/30 in Colorado Springs.