Why are dairy farms disappearing in the United States?

Published 2024년 11월 11일

Tridge summary

The article provides an overview of the challenges faced by dairy farms in the U.S. and Brazil, focusing on the impact of milk pricing rules, increasing production costs, and the trend towards larger farm sizes. In the U.S., the number of dairy farms has significantly decreased, while the average herd size has grown, with a majority of milk production coming from farms with over 2,500 cows. The article highlights the effects of improvements in milk production and distribution on milk prices and producers' profits. It also mentions the use of futures contracts and precision technologies as strategies for reducing costs. In Brazil, a survey by MilkPoint Ventures found a similar trend of fewer producers and larger farms, with an increase in average production volume over the years.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

To continue reading the article, log in or register with MilkPoint. Get access to exclusive content! Running a dairy farm is not easy, especially when production costs are rising faster than income. Milk pricing rules are among the main reasons why the number of farms in the U.S. has fallen by 95% since the 1970s. While the number of dairy farms has declined, the average herd size—the number of cows per farm—has increased significantly, with more than 60% of all U.S. milk production concentrated on farms with more than 2,500 cows. Chart 1. Number of dairy operations and average size (cows/farm). Why are dairy farms closing? One of the biggest complications is how dairy farmers are compensated. In 1937, Federal Milk Marketing Orders, or FMMOs, were established under the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act . The purpose of these orders was to set a uniform monthly minimum price for milk based on its end use, ensuring that farmers were paid fairly and in a timely manner. Farmers are ...

Source: Milkpoint