US dairy policies drive small farms to get big or get out as monopolies get rich

The article highlights the critical findings of a report by Food and Water Watch that reveals two decades of US dairy policies have led to the decline of family-scale farms and increased environmental harm, while benefiting agribusinesses and corporate lobbyists. Despite a near 40% increase in milk production, the average American dairy farm has only broken even twice in the past two decades. This is due to rising production costs and low milk prices, which are necessary to maintain US dairy's global competitiveness. The report also points out the environmental implications, such as the doubling of methane emissions from dairy manure since 1990, due to the expansion of factory farms and the shift towards concentrated feeding and liquid manure storage. It calls for policies to curb overproduction and support family-scale farms, arguing that the current policies are exacerbating the environmental crisis and driving consolidation in the industry, which is harming rural communities and the environment.