Just how much has our industry consolidated? It took only 11 counties to produce 25 percent of our nation's milk last year. By casting a slightly wider net, 55 counties were responsible for producing half of the U.S. milk needs, indicated research conducted by the Central Federal Milk Marketing Order administrators.
There is one caveat to this data. It is based on statistics from Federal Milk Marketing Orders and California's State Milk Marketing Order. That being said, much of the milk production in Idaho, the nation's third largest milk production state, is not included in this survey. Had the majority of Idaho's production been included, the top 25 percent milk production in 11 counties might have been even higher.
U.S. milk production is certainly consolidating as major dairy states contribute a larger proportion to milk flow. For example, California and Wisconsin accounted for 34.5 percent of U.S. milk production last year. Add in Idaho, New York and Pennsylvania to the mix, and the top five states accounted for 53 percent of the nation's milk output.
Circling back to information from the Central Federal Milk Marketing Order, if you follow this link, you can review the entire slide deck. It includes counties that marketed: 25 percent of the nation's milk; 50 percent; 75 percent; and the entire milk supply. It also includes a slide highlighting which counties expanded milk production - 772 in total; also it details the 1,139 counties that produced less milk than the previous year.
