Largest Decline in U.S. Dairy Farms in 15-Plus Years in 2019
Largest Decline in U.S. Dairy Farms in 15-Plus Years in 2019
USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service’s monthly Milk Production report, released on Feb. 20, showed the largest annual decline in the number of licensed dairy operations since 2004. Since the end of 2014, dairy farmers have struggled with low prices resulting from large supplies outweighing demand, in the U.S. and around the world. While we have historically seen year-over-year declines in the number of dairy operations, the data from 2019 shows this challenging price environment proved to be too much for many operations throughout the country.
