The United States lost 6% of its dairy farms in 2021 and now has fewer than 30,000.
The Mid-Atlantic lost 480 farms, or 5% of its total. New York and Pennsylvania both lost over 200 farms, while Maryland lost 20.
New Jersey has 35 dairies left, and Delaware has 15. Both lost five farms, according to a USDA report released Wednesday.
The U.S. as a whole lost 1,800 dairies in 2021, smaller than the 2,500 farms that exited the previous year.
Vermont, where a number of organic dairies are set to lose their markets, lost 60 farms, or 9%.
Wisconsin, which lost 5% of its dairies, still has the most in the country, with 6,770. Pennsylvania is second, with 5,200.
The number of U.S. dairy farms has fallen by half since 2006. Over that period, milk production has increased 24%, and milk per cow has grown 20%.
Source: Lancaster Farming
