Happy Dairy Month!
The month of June brings a flurry of excitement for many families as it’s the beginning of summer. This means anything from pool parties, BBQ’s and summer vacations. June is also National Dairy Month, a time to celebrate the dairy industry around the United States. Next time you head to the local ice cream parlor for that sweet summer treat, make sure to thank your dairy farmers! Milk, ice cream, yogurt, cheese and butter are only a few dairy products one can find in the grocery store. Not only are these products delicious, they are packed with essential nutrients to grow strong bones and keep our bodies healthy.
Last year 212,436 million pounds of milk was produced by 9,328 dairy cows[1]. Diving deeper into these numbers from the USDA shows that each cow produced 22,775 pounds of milk over the course of one year. Holy cow! (Pun Intended) While these are all impressive numbers, dairy producers have been steadily decreasing over the last 10 years. Milk produced, number of cows, milk per cow and average herd size have all increased since 2006, however, the amount of licensed dairy herds has decreased from 62,070 farms in 2006 to 41,809 farms in 2016[1]. This is a 48.5% decrease. Even though the number of dairy farms is decreasing, the size of dairy farms is on the rise. In addition to larger dairies, technology helps to increase production amounts.
National Dairy Month is particularly special to us because our roots lead back to the dairy industry. Eldon Stutsman, a dairy farmer himself, started running a milk route in 1934. Shortly after, his neighbors started to ask him to bring back supplies from town and just like that Eldon C. Stutsman, Inc was born. Celebrating agriculture is a daily occurrence around Eldon C Stutsman, Inc, but June Dairy Month is just another reminder of our company roots. A big thank you goes out to all those who work in the dairy industry!
References:
[1] “Dairy Data.” USDA ERS – Dairy Data. United States Department of Agriculture, 11 May 2017. Web. 08 June 2017.