Dairy Production in NYS

Mar 7, 2013 | Food for Thought

For the February Food and Health Network meeting we were joined by Ken Smith, Milk CansExecutive Director of Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County, for a presentation on NYS dairy. The research looks at the economic impact of the dairy industry in New York, trends in milk production and the demand for dairy products, and the future outlook for our region. Here are a few of Ken Smith’s current thoughts on the state of New York’s dairy production:

  1. At present New York is undergoing a dairy boom in western New York and a dairy bust in the Leatherstocking and Southern Tier region (south of U.S. Route 90 and east of U.S. Route 81).
  2. The loss of milk production in our region compared to 1999 means that in Chenango, Otsego, Broome, Delaware, Tioga and Cortland Counties we are down $120 million per year in economic impacts. That means over the next 10 years we will be down $1.2 billion dollars in dairy income for our region.
  3. Disadvantaged not dying! Though the numbers can look bleak it is important to remember that dairy farming is still one of our region’s largest industries with more than $360 million in economic impact.
  4. Many dairy farms of all sizes are profitable in our region.
  5. Dairy farming is still by far the easiest, most profitable way to make a living in agriculture in our region with more than 500 dairy farms, the majority of which are profitable businesses. Many dairy farms are very profitable.
  6. A typical 100 cow dairy for our region has $600,000 per year in economic impact, each cow about has $6,000 in impact.
  7. The future opportunity for growth in NY dairy lies in our region.  Dairy modernization, and expansion, have the potential to create strong regrowth in our region’s dairy industry.

Below are the graphics from Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chenango County presented at the meeting. Please contribute any use of the graphics to CCE Chenango County. Please contact Ken Smith with any questions.

NYS Dairy Farming Annual Economic Impact Changes by County
New York Dairy Trends at a Glance
Change in cow number economic impact
2010 dairy production economic impact