A baker’s dozen of counties produced one-fourth of the nation’s federal order milk that was marketed last year. Those are the same 13 counties that led this list in 2021 as well
Milk prices were too low for too long. That sums up the serious economic consequences in the countryside as 8.8% of all dairy farms holding permits to sell milk left the business last year
When it comes to organic food sales, dairy is big business. That’s based on looking directly at organic sales from farms — before products reach processors
U.S. dairying is rolling along at a solid milk production clip in 2017. From January through August, output in the 23 states summarized in monthly USDA-NASS reports has been up on average
Over the next decade, California widened its lead dramatically in both categories. The high watermarks came in 2008 at 16.73 billion pounds and 592,000 cows. But things have changed a lot since then
What will U.S. dairy farming be like in a half century? That was the focus of a topic I presented at the Tucker Endowed Lecture at Michigan State University this past March
Tight margins that ranged from $5.76 to $9.17 per hundredweight after feed costs were among the reasons that 1,725 dairy farmers exited the industry last year. Those business closings were only
No statistic may be more telling than the fact that 3.41 percent of the dairies produce 50 percent of the milk in the Central Federal Milk Marketing Order. This proportion has tightened significantly since...
In the Upper Midwest Federal Milk Marketing Order, roughly one-third of the milk came from herds that had 1,000 or more cows. "Roughly" is the key word, as some assumptions must be made when sifting through...
There is a reason that the federal government takes a detailed census each year . . . even going door to door to collect population data. It is the most accurate way to gather such information
The milk per cow totals are factually correct in USDA's July and August milk production report. For the first time in over five decades, the average Wisconsin cow produced more milk than one in California
In producing 20.5 percent of the nation's milk last year, the Golden State is the undisputed leader in U.S. milk production. Collectively, its 1,485 dairy farms produced 42.3 billion pounds of milk and...
Just how much has our industry consolidated? It took only 12 counties to produce 25 percent of our nation's milk last December. By casting a slightly wider net, 56 counties were responsible for producing...
For a number of decades, we have seen firsthand multiple states develop initiatives to either recruit dairy farmers to their respective states or develop homegrown talent to grow dairy cow numbers. There's...
Among the top 10 states when ranked by farm numbers, only 3.1 percent of dairies exited the business. For the 40 remaining states, losses were steeper at 4.9 percent. Record milk checks received by U.S....