News Dairy cattle USA
Many dairy farmers in US bury battle axe
President Trump's promises to 'his' agricultural sector have not stopped a large number of dairy farmers from giving up milking. Last week, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released current figures on the number of registered dairy farms in the United States (US). This number showed a significant decrease over 2019.
A total of 3.281 American dairy farmers buried the hatchet. Family businesses in particular are no longer able to keep their heads above water. The financial pressure is too great. Where before 1970 there were still laws that curbed mass production, this is no longer the case. These laws ensured that sales were regulated per company, so that the farmer got a good price for his products.
That is no longer the case today. After 1970, the laws had to make way for new laws. In these laws, the aim was rather to produce as much as possible: 'Get big or get out'. As a result, agribusiness has gained the upper hand, which means that small (family) businesses are forced to strive for optimal production. This is often at the expense of financial resources, which means that many farmers have to give up their business.
There is no question of an increase
The number of registered dairy farmers now stands at 8,8 after the 34.187% decline. The percentage decline is an average across the US. Indeed, there are a large number of states that have experienced a much greater decline. For example, 23% of dairy farmers in West Virginia and 20% of dairy farmers in the states of Arkansas, Tennessee and South Carolina stopped. And this is just a small selection of the states where more than 10% of dairy farmers have stopped.
It is striking that there is not a single state where the number of dairy farmers has increased. However, there are 7 states, including Alaska, Colorado and Nevada, where the number of registered companies has remained stable. The outflow of dairy farmers affects the US milk production not by the way. It even showed slight growth figures for January.
Jorine Cosse
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