Decades of consolidation have pushed thousands of dairy farms out of business, as rising costs for feed, fertilizer, labor and other inputs have made it increasingly difficult for smaller operations to survive. As of 2022, industrial-scale farms with at least 2,500 cows account for about 45% of all U.S. milk sales.
But consolidation is not limited to farms. The dairy cooperatives that represent farmers have also grown larger, increasingly operating more like corporations than the small, farmer-focused organizations they once were.
Most dairy farmers sell their milk through cooperatives. But the number of dairy co-ops has fallen from more than 1,900 in 1952 to 107 in 2023, according to the most recent available data. Three of the largest — Dairy Farmers of America, Land O’Lakes and California Dairies — market about 83% of all milk sales, according to Food and Water Watch.
As co-ops have merged and expanded into other parts of the dairy business, some farmers argue that the organizations created to serve them have developed interests of their own. In some cases, co-ops have purchased the very processing companies that farmers sell their milk to. Some producers have sued their co-ops, alleging that these arrangements create conflicts of interest.
This trend is something that the government took notice of in 2019. The U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) wrote in a report: “As a cooperative grows and encompasses potentially competing interests, some farmers may feel that they have lost control over the cooperative’s priorities and strategic direction.”
Data Harvest (formerly Graphic of the Week) is Investigate Midwest’s way of making complex agricultural data easy to understand. Through engaging graphics, charts, and maps, we break down key trends to help readers quickly grasp the forces shaping farming, food systems, and rural communities. Want us to explore other data trends? Let us know here.
