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Wisconsin down 449 more dairy herds in ’19 so far

Wisconsin ag officials say the state is continuing to lose dairy farms.  More than 6% of the licensed dairies stopped operating in the first six months of the year.

The Dairy State lost 449 farms so far this year with another 61 licensed herds dispersed in June after already losing 86 in May, 90 in April, 85 in March, 63 in February, and 64 in January.  In 2018, 691 Wisconsin dairy farms shut down.

Milk prices were near $16.30 a hundredweight during April when the state lost the highest number of farms.  Now, the September and October Class III prices are a few cents from breaking $18.00 a hundredweight.

After eight straight years of a growing U.S. dairy herd on fewer overall farms, USDA statistics show farmers so far have about 50-thousand fewer milk cows than in 2018.