Lessons to Learn from the Dairymen
By Jennifer Hill
A wise person not only learns lessons from their own success and failures, but watches and learns from the actions and consequences of those around them. As an adjacent industry the US Dairyman has much to teach the American Rancher.
Government Intervention Doesn’t Help
The dairy industry is a wonderful example of what happens when you get on the carousel of government intervention. Supply and demand changes, the people complain, the government response is labored, slow, and mostly ineffective. Repeat this process each decade and you wind up with the US Dairy Industry.
During the Great Depression the US government began experimenting with maximum and minimum diary retail pricing, all in the name of saving America’s Dairy farmers. Setting a floor price quickly led to an overproduction of milk with no mechanism for market pricing to adjust in a timely manner. Farmers were famously forced to dump loads of milk into the ground. However, just as legislators were beginning to discuss further interventions WWII began, placing greater demands on the milk supply and a band aid on the issue. As prices rose so did dairy imports, leading to the government response limiting imported dairy products. The 1960’s and 70’s were spent studying and resetting parity levels for dairy farmers as the government attempted to balance consumer prices with farmer income needs. There was a distinct belief that imported dairy products would be the demise of the industry and by the time Jimmy Carter became President in 1976 US dairy farmers were begging for assistance. The Carter administration quickly raised the minimum price for dairy and a surplus supply followed, leading to massive government spending supporting the dairy industry. In the 1980’s the feds began to experiment with incentives to reduce the amount of milk produced across the nation. The last several decades have been full of federal adjustments to minimum prices, supply incentives and promotional efforts on behalf of the dairy farmer. Despite their efforts the number of US Dairy Farms has been on a steady decline for many years. Since 2003 we have lost more than half of our licensed dairy operations. The feds keep dinking with the industry and farmers keep fleeing the farm.
Trademark Your Name
Almond, soy, cashew, coconut, rice and oat milk have all become standards in the dairy section of every grocery store. Once relegated to the weird smelling hippie grocers, you can now find a wide variety of flavored milk alternatives in every Walmart, Kroger and Safeway. The most disturbing thing about the trend is the ability for all of these alternatives to use the term “milk”. The beef industry is at a similar crossroads. Alternatives to our product are popping up with increasing frequency. Both plant based and lab grown products claim to replace beef. Our industry needs to learn from the dairy farmers and quickly figure out how to tie down the terms beef, burger and meat.
Don’t Consolidate Genetic Pools
American dairy farms have done an amazing job of increasing productivity. In 1950 the average dairy cow produced about 5,300 pounds of milk a year. By 2020 the average Holstein could make 23,000 pounds per year. It’s drastic improvement, but at what cost? In the 1960’s the focus on Holstein milk production took off, strengthened by the wide spread adoption of A.I. industry wide. Today 99% of Holstein bulls in the US can be traced to just two bulls, both born in the 1960s. As a result, recessive genetic problems have become more frequent. Fertility and congenital deformity issues plague the industry leaving it highly susceptible to both problems within the herd and attacks from activists. Animal rights proponents love to bash the dairy industry and some of the genetic and health issues their cows face due to a lack of diversity and trait selection certainly makes the activists’ job easier.
Knowing your purpose is important. However so is finding your own path to success. The Holstein shows us that becoming overly dedicated to sameness and single trait selection leads down a scary path.
Data Collection is Your Friend
The Holstein breed has the most complete genomic database in the world. They know exactly what their cattle will perform like before birth and thus are able to predict future production in a way far superior to what the beef industry is currently capable of. The data allows for incredibly accurate and early identification and selection of replacement animals. Time is money and investing years into a heifer before you can determine if she fits with your program can be frustrating. The dairyman has this nailed down to a science, literally.
Always Look for New Markets
Just when you think a milk cows’ purpose is defined (everyone knows dairy cows make milk and crappy fast food burgers) the dairy industry shook it up with the promotion of ‘Beef of Dairy’. The movement, which has seen new interest and popularity lately, takes the high, consistent marbling of dairy cows and throws the benefits of a high yield beef bull into the mix, creating a new market for Holstein calves. By thinking outside the box they have breathed new life into many dairy farms, and are marketing the heck out of it.
The beef industry, along with much of the nation, is facing a crossroads. Ranchers are being pushed to the breaking point, financially and emotionally. If we have any hope of surviving we should glean what we can from our neighbors and then push on with perspective and knowledge.