The United States Department of Agriculture also reported this afternoon that licensed dairy farm numbers declined by 1,225 farms, a drop of 2.7%. The total number of licensed dairy farms now stands at 43,584.
With an estimated 9.317 million cows on farms, that suggests the average U.S. dairy farm now houses about 215 cows.
Farms Getting Bigger, Fewer
Wisconsin dipped below 10,000 farms this past year to 9,900. That’s a drop of 390 farms. Nevertheless, the number of dairy cows in the Badger State is actually up in January, to 1.28 million head.
California herd numbers also dipped, but by only 20 herds, to 1,465, for a loss of just 1.3%.
To see how many dairy farms are in your state and to read the full report, click here, then scroll to page 18.