Dairy producers proved they are a resilient lot. Despite tough economic conditions during the past two years, most producers kept milking cows as only 1,805 licensed dairy farms called it quits last year. Not only did this represent the smallest drop in permitted dairy farms since tracking began in 1992, last year also marked the smallest percentage drop at 3.3 percent. The next smallest reductions occurred in 2005 and 2008 when 3.4 percent of dairies hung up milkers for the last time.

It appears dairy farm losses may be moderating. When looking at nearly two decades of data, the previous three years posted the smallest actual reductions in farm numbers, noting the 2009 (2,185) and 2008 (2,003) small losses. Since 1992, the drop in licensed or so-called commercial dairy farms has been 78,382, from 131,509 to 53,127. That's a 60 percent drop during that time.

The farms counted in this survey are those that have a permit to sell milk. This number differs from another USDA estimate . . . operations with milk cows. That total is now 62,500 and has declined 106,000 or 62.9 percent since 1992.

Over the last 19 years, average herd size has gone up 133 percent, from 74 to 172 cows. Regionally, the West (+236) and the Midwest (+111) have seen the largest percentage gains in herd size. Western herds added 38 cows last year, bringing their average to 884 cows per operation. Meanwhile, the rest of the country had small gains in herd size: Southeast (+4); Midwest (+3); and Northeast (+1). The West's growth in herd size is due to farm losses rather than growth in cows. The western herd peaked in 2008 with 3.958 million cows. Numbers have dropped for two consecutive years.

On a percentage basis, the Southeast edged out the West for the largest share of farms calling it quits. This year marks the 14th time that the Southeast has outpaced other regions. Last year was the only time the West led the nation in farm losses, while the Midwest lost more farms in 1994, 1997, and 2002. Since 1992, the Southeast lost more operations than any other region as farms fell from 12,057 to 3,630 . . . a drop of 8,427 or 70 percent.

See the March 10, 2011, issue, page 159, for a complete analysis and data review.