Overview

Photo courtesy of USDA NRCS.

The United States produced 192.8 billion pounds of milk in 2010, an increase of 1.8 percent from 2009. The total value of milk production was $31.4 billion, nearly 30 percent higher than the previous year. Average production per cow was 21,442 pounds. The average number of milk cows on farms during the past year was 9.1 million head, down 86,000 head from 2009 (NASS 2011).

Milk production has shifted within the United States. During the 1990s, growth occurred in the Pacific Northwest, mountain states and western regions of California. During the same period, there was a decline in milk production in the upper Midwest. California surpassed Wisconsin in 1993 as the number one dairy-producing state. California leads the United States in fluid milk, butter, ice cream and nonfat dry milk production. Wisconsin is the number one producer of cheese.  May 2011 ... Commodity Dairy

Marketing

• Dairy, Economic Research Service (ERS), USDA.
• Dairy Market and Policy Issues, Congressional Research Service, 2009 - At the beginning of 2009, U.S. dairy producers were caught in a classic “price-cost squeeze,” with farm milk prices falling sharply from record highs while feed costs remained high. The situation prompted calls for policymakers to consider how well current dairy policies were assisting dairy producers and what other options might be available.
• Dairy Products Prices, National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), USDA.
• Dairy Monthly Imports, Foreign Ag Service (FAS), USDA.
• Dairy: World Market and Trade, FAS, USDA.
• The Farm Bill and California Dairy, AIC Farm Bill Brief #5, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, 2007 - Dairy policy is particularly important to California. Dairy producers, consumers and the rural economy and environment all have a stake in federal dairy policy. Dairy is by far the largest agricultural industry in California, accounting for about 14 percent of agricultural value in the state.
• Fluid Milk Promotion Order, Code of Federal Regulations.
• Global Ag Trade System (GATS), FAS, USDA.
• International Dairy Foods Association
• Milk Production and Milk Cows, NASS, USDA.
• National Milk Producers Federation
• Supply and Demand for Commodity Components: Implications of Free Trade versus the AUSFTA for the U.S. Dairy Industry, Agricultural Issues Center, University of California, 2006 - This paper presents a simulation model of world dairy markets and analyzes the effects on U.S. milk markets of both a hypothetical agreement allowing free bilateral trade in dairy products and the actual Australian-US Free Trade Agreement.
• Understanding Dairy Markets,University of Wisconsin-Madison - This Web site links to information on markets and price risk management.
• U.S. Dairy Export Council
  

Processing/Manufacturing

• The Dairy 100, Dairy Foods magazine - Dairy Foods has compiled a list of the top dairy processors based on sales figures. The list is located in the left column. You must sign in to access the information.
• Dairy Beef Online Course, University of California, Davis - Available free to anyone desiring information on market cattle quality and food safety. Tools for assessing and certifying on-farm quality assurance programs are provided. Dairy market cattle are a major source of beef and represent up to 15 percent of a dairy's income. The course is also available in CD-ROM for individuals requesting in-residence training or without access to the Internet.
• Grading, Code of Federal Regulations.
• Pasteurized Milk Ordinance, U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
  

Production

• Overview of the United States Dairy Industry, NASS, USDA, 2010 - The U.S. dairy industry has undergone significant structural change over the past eight years. Total milk cow operations have declined significantly, while the number of large operations has increased.
• The Rapid Rise of China's Dairy Sector: Factors Behind the Growth in Demand and Supply, 2005.
  

Businesses/Case Studies

• Cass-Clay Creamery: A New Direction for an Old Brand, Gregory McKee, North Dakota State University, and Michael Boland, Kansas State University, 2008 - This case study discusses the options available to a dairy coop that has incurred net income losses for several years.
• Farmers’ All Natural Creamery, Wellman, Iowa, 2008 - This business began with the idea of taking hard-to-market milk from local farmers with special circumstances, processing it and meeting the needs of a growing consumer demand for natural and organic products.
• Naturally Iowa LLC, Clarinda, Iowa, 2008 - This organic and all-natural dairy produces the following products: fluid milk, drinkable yogurt and ice cream.
• Picket Fence Creamery, Woodward, Iowa - This family-owned and operated dairy farm and country store, owned by Jeff and Jill Burkhart, utilizes 80 acres. Using rotational grazing, the 80 Jersey cows produce milk that is pasteurized on site and bottled or made into value-added products such as ice cream or cheese.
• Western United Dairymen (WUD), Modesto, California - WUD is a trade association with voluntary membership. With1,100 of the state’s dairies as members, they represent approximately 60 percent of the milk production in California. Membership benefits include resources in labor law, environmental regulations and pricing issues.

Links checked August 2010.