The dairy industry in New York has declined significantly over the last decade, with the number of farms falling from 9,300 in 1997 to approximately 3,000 in 2022. Rising production costs and national market changes have caused thousands of small and medium-sized dairies to close. The number of dairy cattle in New York has remained relatively stable, indicating that smaller farms have either folded and sold their herds to larger competitors or merged with other family farms.
The dairy industry’s ongoing struggles include labor and production costs rising nearly 50% over the five-year period beginning in 2017. The number of dairy farms in New York has declined precipitously, with Wisconsin having a quarter of its dairy farms in 1997 and Pennsylvania losing one-third of its dairy farms in the last 25 years. The dairy industry is critical in rural New York, which is experiencing increased hardship due to the loss of economic drivers.
The dairy industry’s shift reflects broader trends in New York, with larger but fewer farms producing a comparable amount of product. However, as the number of farms in New York has declined, the average size of a farm has increased, while the total acreage of farmland has slightly decreased in recent years. Over the last ten years, the state has lost approximately 5,000 farms and nearly 700,000 acres of farmland.
While the cost of production has risen dramatically, the market value of New York’s agricultural products has increased by 50%. The number of farms with sales exceeding $500,000 per year increased, while all other farms decreased. The results in New York reflect national trends, with the number of farms declining by about 10% over the last decade.
According to Upstate United executive director Justin Wilcox, the trend is part of a series of foundational changes passed by Democratic lawmakers in recent years that aim to provide fairer labor conditions for farm workers but have been fiercely opposed by the agricultural industry and Republicans. Cornell researchers cautioned that it may be too soon to fully assess how the state’s policies have affected the complex agricultural market.
In 2019, Governor Andrew M. Cuomo signed the Farm Laborers Fair Labor Practices Act, which required farm owners to gradually implement standards for how many hours farm laborers could work before being eligible for overtime. Previously, farm laborers were exempt from overtime laws, given a day off, and had the right to form unions. The state’s minimum wage has also increased.
As a board appointed by the state Department of Labor debated whether farm workers should be entitled to a 40-hour work week, agricultural groups and rural upstate lawmakers decried what they saw as the death knell for the already struggling mom-and-pop farms. Assembly Minority Leader Will Barclay urged the governor and state labor commissioner to honor these hardworking men and women by rejecting the wage board’s recommendations.
Labor advocates argue that the most pressing issue is establishing fair worker protections in an industry that is increasingly reliant on migrant labor. A union and a group of farms are in federal court arguing over the scope of farm workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. A year ago, state officials approved a phase-in plan to bring farm workers into line with the rest of the labor industry by making any work exceeding 40 hours per week eligible for overtime. Gov. Kathy Hochul agreed to provide farms with a semi-annual tax credit to help offset some of the transitional labor costs.
The dairy industry has been signaling its challenges in both the New York economy and the federal marketplace, citing fixed milk costs. Critics will argue, “Why shouldn’t (farm laborers) be treated like any other worker in any industry?” Crystal Grimaldi, a co-owner at Ideal Dairy in Hudson Falls, told the Times Union in 2021. She stated that the family farm was looking to technology to help reduce labor costs, which could result in fewer people being hired.
To ensure the viability of remaining dairy farms, local food supply, and the rural communities that this industry serves, we must continue to collaborate and invest in New York’s farms, farmworkers, and dairy industry partners. A new “Farm Bill” that could help farmers with their business issues is still being debated in Congress.
