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The dairy industry in the United States includes the farms, cooperatives, and companies that produce milk and cheese and related products, such as milking machines, and distribute them to the consumer. By 1925, the United States had 1.5-2 million dairy cows, each producing an average of 4200 lb of milk per year. By 2007, there were 9.1 million dairy cows but their average milk production was over 20,000 pounds per year, with eight pounds per gallon.


History

European dairy practices varied from place to place, and immigrants to the United States would work together to import and improve on the best Europe traditions. One result was a variety of dairy practices across the United States.


21st-century farms

There are 40,200 dairy farms in the United States, down from 111,800 in 1995. In 2017 the top five dairy states are, in order by total milk production; California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho, and Texas. Dairy farming remains important in Florida, Minnesota, Ohio and Vermont. Herd size in the US varies between 1,200 on the West Coast and
Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
, where large farms are commonplace, to roughly 50 in the
Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
and Northeast, where land-base is a significant limiting factor to herd size. The average herd size in the U.S. is about one hundred cows per farm but the median size is 900 cows with 49% of all cows residing on farms of 1000 or more cows.


Production by state

Production of milk per state in 2019 was as follows:


See also

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Animal husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, startin ...
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Dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on a ...
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Dairy cattle Dairy cattle (also called dairy cows) are cattle bred for the ability to produce large quantities of milk, from which dairy products are made. Dairy cattle generally are of the species ''Bos taurus''. Historically, little distinction was mad ...
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Dairy farming Dairy farming is a class of agriculture for long-term production of milk, which is processed (either on the farm or at a dairy plant, either of which may be called a dairy) for eventual sale of a dairy product. Dairy farming has a history tha ...
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Dairy product Dairy products or milk products, also known as lacticinia, are food products made from (or containing) milk. The most common dairy animals are cow, water buffalo, nanny goat, and ewe. Dairy products include common grocery store food items in t ...
s *
Factory farming Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also known by its opponents as factory farming and macro-farms, is a type of intensive agriculture, specifically an approach to animal husbandry designed to maximize production, while ...
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Family farm A family farm is generally understood to be a farm owned and/or operated by a family; it is sometimes considered to be an estate passed down by inheritance. Although a recurring conceptual and archetypal distinction is that of a family farm a ...
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List of dairy products This is a list of dairy products. A dairy product is food produced from the milk of mammals. A production plant for the processing of milk is called a dairy or a dairy factory. Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, en ...
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List of cheesemakers This is a list of notable cheesemakers. Cheesemakers are people or companies that make cheese, who have developed the knowledge and skills required to convert milk into cheese. Cheesemaking involves controlling precisely the types and amounts of ...
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List of dairy products This is a list of dairy products. A dairy product is food produced from the milk of mammals. A production plant for the processing of milk is called a dairy or a dairy factory. Dairy farming is a class of agricultural, or an animal husbandry, en ...
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List of dairy product companies in the United States This is a list of dairy product companies in the United States. A dairy product is food produced from the milk of mammals. Dairy products are usually high energy-yielding food products. A production plant for the processing of milk is called a dair ...
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Managed intensive grazing In agriculture, rotational grazing, as opposed to continuous grazing, describes many systems of pasturing, whereby livestock are moved to portions of the pasture, called paddocks, while the other portions rest. Each paddock must provide all the ...
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Veal Veal is the meat of calves, in contrast to the beef from older cattle. Veal can be produced from a calf of either sex and any breed, however most veal comes from young male calves of dairy breeds which are not used for breeding. Generally, ...


Notes


Further reading

* Apps, Jerry. ''Cheese: The making of a Wisconsin tradition'' (University of Wisconsin Press, 2004). * Bailey, Kenneth W. ''Marketing and pricing of milk and dairy products in the United States'' (Iowa State University Press, 1997). * Blayney, Don P. "The Changing Landscape of U.S. Milk Production" (USDA, 2002
online
* Bowen, Sarah, and Kathryn De Master. "Wisconsin’s 'Happy Cows'? Articulating heritage and territory as new dimensions of locality." ''Agriculture and Human Values'' 31.4 (2014): 549-562
online
* Cardoso, Clarissa S., et al. "Imagining the ideal dairy farm." ''Journal of Dairy Science'' 99.2 (2016): 1663-1671.
online
* Dillon, John J. ''Seven Decades of Milk - A History of New York's Dairy Industry'' (2010) * DuPuis, E. Melanie. ''Nature's perfect food: How milk became America's drink'' (NYU Press, 2002)
complete text online
* Fuquay, John W. ed. ''Encyclopedia of Dairy Sciences'' (2nd Edition, 4 vol 2011), comprehensive coverage * Janus, Edward. ''Creating Dairyland: How caring for cows saved our soil, created our landscape, brought prosperity to our state, and still shapes our way of life in Wisconsin'' (Wisconsin Historical Society, 2011). * Keillor, Steven J. "Agricultural change and crosscultural exchange: Danes, Americans, and dairying, 1880-1930." ''Agricultural History'' 67#4 (1993), p. 58
online
* Khosrova, Elaine. ''Butter: A Rich History'' (2016
excerpt
* Kurlansky, Mark. ''Milk: A 10,000-Year History'' (2019
excerpt
* McMurry, Sally. ''Transforming rural life: Dairying families and agricultural change, 1820-1885'' (Johns Hopkins UP, 1995). * Porter, John. ''The History and Economics of the New Hampshire Dairy Industry'' (University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension Service, 2007). * * Steele, Catherine Baumgarten. "The Steele Brothers: Pioneers in California's Great Dairy Industry." ''California Historical Quarterly'' 20.3 (1941): 259-273
online
* Switzer, Robert L. ''A Family Farm: Life on an Illinois Dairy Farm'' (2012) * Valenze, Deborah. ''Milk: A Local and Global History'' (2011
excerpt
{{Agriculture in the United States Dairy industry Dairy farming in the United States