The information below has been supplied by dairy marketers and other industry organizations. It has not been edited, verified or endorsed by Hoard’s Dairyman.

Pennsylvania dairy farm owners and managers are invited to complete the “2017 Pennsylvania Dairy Industry Producer Survey” by July 1, 2017. The four-page survey was mailed in early May to more than 6,500 dairy farms located in Pennsylvania.

“Dairy farmers continue to face increasingly more challenges to producing milk and managing their farm businesses,” said Jayne Sebright, executive director of the Center for Dairy Excellence. “The producer survey provides an avenue for dairy farmers to voice their input and share their plans and needs, which will be considered in planning future dairy programs and services.”

The survey includes questions on the milking herd, production acres, operational structure and future plans for the dairy farm. Collective survey data will be evaluated to identify trends and needs but individual responses will remain anonymous. Please allow 15 minutes to complete the survey questions.

The Dairy Industry Producer Survey is conducted by the Center for Dairy Excellence every five years to develop a baseline of trends and changes occurring within the Pennsylvania dairy industry. The data collected from dairy farmer responses will also contribute to a comprehensive dairy industry study to identify opportunities and inhibitors to growing and strengthening Pennsylvania’s dairy sector.

The comprehensive study is being conducted by Charles Nicholson, clinical associate professor at the Pennsylvania State University, Andrew Novakovic, professor of agricultural economics at Cornell University, and Mark Stephenson, director of dairy policy analysis at University of Wisconsin-Madison. The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture and the Center for Dairy Excellence are partners in supporting this study.

Visit the Center’s website, centerfordairyexcellence.org, to complete the e-survey or download and print a PDF document for submission by mail. Deadline for survey submissions is Saturday, July 1, 2017. For more information, call the Center for Dairy Excellence at 717-346-0849 or visit centerfordairyexcellence.org.

The Center for Dairy Excellence is a non-profit organization initiated by the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture in 2004. Bringing together people from more than 40 different dairy organizations in Pennsylvania, the center’s mission is to enhance the profitability of the dairy industry by empowering people, creating partnerships, and increasing the availability and use of resources. Learn more at centerfordairyexcellence.org.