95% of U.S. dairy farms have disappeared since 1970. Today, about 24,000 dairies remain.
While the number has dropped, the average herd size is on the rise. More than 60% of all milk production occurs on farms with more than 2,500 cows.
So, what is driving the changes in the dairy industry?
That depends on who you ask.
A University of Tennessee Dairy Specialist believes that it is tied to the Federal Milk Marketing Order and how today’s dairy producers are paid for their products.
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“We lost 150,000 farmers and farms in the last four years, a disaster that nobody’s talking about.”
“Farmers want to feed people. They want to keep farming. They’re counting on Congress to live up to its obligations.”
“It keeps the land in ag production and provides our retiring farmers with a viable retirement option.”