Source: NCSU COLLEGE OF AG & LIFE SCIENCES, 6/17/20


The landscape of the dairy industry has seen changes over the years — milk prices and fewer farms, to name a few  — but it’s always been a valuable commodity to North Carolina’s agriculture. Although the state ranks 28th in the country for milk production, dairy contributes about $10.6 billion to North Carolina’s economy, including items produced, processed and sold as well as related jobs.

By the Numbers
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Services (USDA-NASS) started collecting data on the national dairy cow inventory in 1867 and milk production in 1924. Based on that data, milk cow inventory in North Carolina hit a record high in 1945 with 400,000 cows. As of 2019 that number has dropped to 44,000 — a record low for inventory.

The state hit a record high in milk production in 1985. That number dropped over the next 20 years but seems to have leveled, and we consistently produce about 1 billion pounds of milk a year.

“In 2019, the average dairy cow in North Carolina produced 21,476 pounds of milk, which equates to about 2,500 gallons. In the mid-1900s each dairy cow was producing less or about 5,000 pounds each. In order to supply the market demand for milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, yogurt and other tasty dairy foods, we really don’t need as many cows as we did 50 years ago,” said Brittany Whitmire, Extension dairy associate at NC State.

Fewer Farms, Greater Dedication
In 2013, North Carolina had about 250 Grade A commercial dairy operations that shipped fluid milk through cooperatives. Today there are about 140.

Reid Smith, owner of Red Acres Farm in Davidson County and president of the North Carolina Dairy Producers Association, believes this might have something to do with how people consume dairy these days.

“Consumers are wanting to eat their dairy versus drinking it. They want more cheese on their pizza or more protein-fortified bars. That’s where it started. The dairy market began building plants for those types of dairy products,” Smith explained. While most milk produced goes toward manufacturing powders, cheeses and other dry dairy products, 12% remains as fluid milk for drinking.
Smith said that the Southeast remains a fluid milk market, including many of the dairy farms in North Carolina, like family owned and operated Brush Creek Swiss Farms in Chatham County.

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