Milk - The General Assembly of 1987 adopted milk as the official State Beverage. (Session Laws, 1987, c. 347). In making milk the official state beverage, North Carolina followed 17 other states, including both South Carolina and Virginia. According to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, North Carolina ranks 31st among dairy producing states in the nation, producing just over 1,000,000 pounds of milk per year. Receipts in 2006 from milk production was approximately $139 million.