America’s Dairy Industry Adapting to Long-Running Structural Pressures
David A. Hennessy and Hongli Feng
The U.S. dairy farming industry has been experiencing continued consolidation and persistent low milk prices in recent years. Papers in this theme examine the current situation, focusing on structure, marketing arrangements and market stresses. Analyses based on farm surveys shed light on individual farmers’ challenges and coping strategies.
Hongli Feng, David A. Hennessy, Yanan Jia, Melissa G.S. McKendree, and Christopher A. Wolf
Consolidation in the U.S. dairy industry, as in other agricultural industries, has long been recognized. Through surveying dairy farmers facing persistently low milk prices, we found a generally negative outlook and an ongoing trend of “get big or get out†characterized by a bias toward capital away from labor.
Curtis L. Mahnken and Joleen C. Hadrich
Dairy farmers are well acquainted with managing volatile input and output prices. This article uses a sample of small and medium-sized Minnesota dairy farms that contribute data to the FINBIN farm financial database and finds that revenue diversification strategies have successfully helped dairy farmers remain profitable in the Upper Midwest.
Mark W. Stephenson and Charles F. Nicholson
The U.S. dairy industry has faced milk price challenges for nearly 4 years. A portion of this price pressure is due to slower export sales, but regional shifts in domestic milk production, demand for dairy products, and transportation costs have also had regional impacts on farm milk checks.
Andrew M. Novakovic and Christopher A. Wolf
Milk market coordination requires balancing supply and demand daily, seasonally, across the production cycle. Several areas of the US have been struggling in recent years to manage growing milk production without matching processing capacity. The result has been an increasing amount of milk dumped and farm financial stress.
Daniel A. Sumner
A new federal milk marketing order (FMMO) covering California began November 1, 2018. Despite a shift from state to federal control and major changes in administrative procedures, the new FMMO is unlikely to change economic fundamentals or the competitive positions of the California dairy farm or milk processing industries.
