The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Census of Agriculture statistics for 2022 indicated a substantial change in the dairy industry’s trajectory, with herd consolidation playing a big role. According to Lucas Fuess, Senior Dairy Analyst at Rabobank, there were 24,082 dairy enterprises with off-farm milk sales in 2022, a decrease from 39,303 in 2017. Despite the fact that the number of cows remained practically equal at 9.4 million, milk output climbed by 5%. According to Rabobank, less than 25% of the US milk supply was generated on farms with less than 500 heads, although these operations accounted for more than 80% of dairy operations (20,631).
While dairy businesses with less than 500 cows account for 80% of the nation’s dairy farms, the vast majority of cows in the herd live on farms with 1,000 or more animals. The Census of Agriculture breaks out the proportion of U.S. dairy herds that live on farms with more than 1,000 cows, which increased from 17% in 1997 to 65% in 2022.
In the future, more cows are projected to migrate to bigger farms, which can supply milk at a cheaper cost than smaller enterprises. Smaller farms will continue to exist in significant numbers, particularly those that practice diversified agriculture and maintain low debt levels.
