Monday, February 24, 2020

Number of U.S. dairy farms continues its steady drop




Licensed U.S. Dairy Farms Dropped 8.8% Last Year.  (Dairy Herd Management, 2/21/2020)
Wisconsin experienced a 10.3% decrease -- 54% since 2003.  Nevertheless, the USDA annual average number of farms is instructive. For example, several states declined more than 10% in dairy farm number in 2019: West Virginia, down 23%; Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina, down 20%; North Dakota, 19%; North Carolina, down 17%; Michigan, down 12.5%; Georgia, down 12.5%, Ohio, down 12%; Kentucky, Utah and Virginia, down 11%.

Original 5/29/2019 post, "Wisconsin dairy industry:  More milk, fewer farms", starts here.

CAFOs win, we lose.

Source:  Wisconsin Cheese

‘It ain’t fun anymore’: Auctioneers are busy selling off dying Wisconsin dairy farms.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/28/2019)
A worldwide glut of milk continues to drive down the price farmers receive, to the point that many barely break even or lose money. In 2018, for the third straight year, Wisconsin led the nation in farm bankruptcies — most of them family dairy operations, which have been a staple of Wisconsin life for generations. 
The dairy industry has weathered hard times before, Cory said, farmers unable to make the math work amid low milk prices. 
"We've seen this in the past, numerous times," he said. "But in the past, there were always signs that pointed to better times. But today, there are no signs pointing to anything better. We're losing farmers at a high clip."


Related posts:
GET ME REWRITE: Big dairy operations urge GOP to remember where their money comes from.  (5/28/2019)
The destructive legacy of Governor Scott "We're # 1" Walker: the 30 billion pound milkman.  (4/27/2019)
Wisconsin led the nation in dairy farm bankruptcies in 2018.  (2/24/2019)
UPDATE. Running for a third term, Scott Walker hangs dairy farmers out to dry when it comes to immigration.  (6/28/2018)

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