Credit: Kevin Janni
ST. PAUL, Minn. – It’s estimated Minnesota and Wisconsin each lost about 7.5% of their dairy farms in 2023.
Minnesota Milk Producers Association Executive Director Lucas Sjostrom says economic stress is not the only reason dairy farmers are exiting the business.
“I think it’s really hard to paint a picture of why these (losses) happen when they happen because, if we lost 55 farms in December, that’s 55 individual stories,” Sjostrom says.
Sjostrom says there are concerns about the increase in farmers leaving the dairy business, but many are evaluating the economic viability of their operations in the future.
The USDA says the country has about 2% more milk cows than a decade ago, but there are fewer dairy cattle than one year ago, and fewer farmers managing them.
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