Producers in the dairy Industry continue to increase efficiency and lower costs with larger farms. The Census of Agricultural does a survey every five years that includes the size of diary farms. The charts below show the trends over 35 years. The time span is lengthy to provide data that show trends that can predict the future accurately. The most recent census is 2022. The trends are very steady so the charts show how these trends (the dotted lines) will likely look lik

Over the past several decades, the relationship between the public and animal agriculture has changed dramatically. In the middle of the 20th century, a large share of the U.S. population lived on farms or had close connections to agricultural production. Today, fewer than 2 percent of Americans are directly employed in agriculture, and only a portion of those individuals work in livestock production. As the late philosopher Bernard Rollin noted, this demographic shift has pr

In the world of dairy economics, there is a term that often flies under the radar of the average consumer, yet it keeps thousands of dairy farmers awake at night: the make allowance. To a processor, it is a necessary calculation of the cost to turn raw liquid milk into cheese, butter or powder. To the American Dairy Coalition (ADC) and the farmers they represent, it has become an invisible, multidollar tax that is fracturing the foundation of the family farm. As of March 30,