Dairy Farms in the US - Industry Market Research Report

Out to pasture: Dairy farms will endure increasing consolidation amid rising production

The most critical success factor for dairy farms is the price farmers receive for raw milk. Through the end of 2023, raw milk prices have been volatile, causing revenue to fluctuate even before COVID-19. In 2018, an oversupply of dairy products caused milk prices to fall, which led to declining industry revenue that same year. This was immediately followed by the price of milk increasing in 2019, so revenue also grew that same year. While changing prices have caused significant volatility, dairy farms have experienced a net gain in revenue. Dairy farms' revenue will increase at a CAGR of 6.8% to $58.9 billion over the past five years. Along with increasing milk prices, profit will also rise, accounting for 6.3% in 2023.

Operators in this industry primarily raise cattle for milk. The industry includes only the sale of raw milk and excludes the production of drinkable fluid milk and processed dairy products, such as butter, cheese and powdered milk. Those value-added activities are covered in the Dairy Product Production industry (report 31151).

This report covers the scope, size, disposition and growth of the industry including the key sensitivities and success factors. Also included are five year industry forecasts, growth rates and an analysis of the industry's key players and their market shares.