Large US dairy farms proved more productive than smaller ones
11 August 2018
The balance of milk production in the US dairy industry has been shifting from small farms to large farms during the last decade. According to federal data, small dairy farms (with fewer than 500 cattle) produced two-thirds of the nation’s milk in 2001. However, by 2009 their share fell to 40 %. Large farms have proved themselves to be more productive, yielding more milk per cow. While the vast majority of dairies in the U.S. have about 240 cows on the average, small farms have been leaving the business for decades. The total number of dairies fell from 678,000 in 1970 to less than 40,000 in 2018. Notwithstanding the fact that the number of dairy farms decreases, the milk production continues to rise.