The numbers are out from last year and they aren't looking good. It's true, dairy farms are declining across the country. 

USDA reported that licensed dairy farm numbers are down around the country dropping by 2731 farms, or 6.8%. There are now just 37468 dairy farms in the United States, a decline from 40199 in 2018. Most of the decline is due to dairy cow farms going out of business. No states experienced an increase in dairy farms. 

Loss of U.S. dairy farms

Wisconsin remains the top state for the most dairy cows with 1.2 million down 5000 herds from a year ago. Pennsylvania comes in second place with 370 farm losses this past year, down 5.6%. Michigan experiences a huge percentage drop in dairy farm numbers totaling 1520, with 230 farm losses. This is a 13% drop.

 According to an April article from Dairy Herd Management, there were 12 states that reported dairy farm numbers remained unchanged: Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.

Interested in a career in dairy farming? Learn about the dairy farms this National Dairy Month; and help revitalize the industry.