A scrumptious bowl of cereal, creamy mac and cheese, ice cream on a hot summer’s day, a delicious piece of cheesecake for dessert. Is your mouth watering yet? These pleasures in life are made possible by our hardworking dairy farmers and of course, their dairy cows.
Dairy farmers contribute more than $2 billon to the economy each year through fluid milk and other dairy products, making a lasting economic impact across the nation. Here are just a few ways dairy farmers keep our economy strong.
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- The average dairy farm has a herd of 400 cows that each produce 8.3 gallons of milk daily. That’s a lot of milk! Milk from one cow can also make 7.1 pounds of cheese or 3.4 pounds of butter per day.
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- As of 2017, studies show that America is eating the most cheese since the government first started tracking consumption in 1975, and butter is a close second.
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- Ninety-seven percent of dairy farms are family owned and operated, creating a significant impact on the local economy. For example, when a dairy farmer sells a dollar of milk, it generates economic activity of about $3, and every $1 million of U.S. milk sales generates 17 jobs.
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- Dairy farmers couldn’t be successful without technology for efficient farm maintenance. Investors have shown great interest in the future of agriculture technology; in 2015, investments made into companies were as high as $4.6 billion.
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- A rough estimate of 15% of dairy milk produced in the U.S. is exported. In 2014, exports averaged around $653.6 million a month. This ripple effect shows the impact of how dairy farmers contribute to a sustainable economy through agricultural sales and jobs.
So, let’s consider ourselves lucky to have dairy farmers for all of their hard work in bringing us healthy dairy products, leading the way in research of agricultural sciences and being a pinnacle in the American economy.