11/28/21
The New Jersey dairy industry is in a slow and steady decline. If we look back to 1998, 198 commercial farms produced 288,000,000lbs of milk valued at about $41,000,000. Just two years later, 154 farms produced 240,000,000lbs of milk valued at $36,000,000. Fifteen years later, in 2015, production fell to around half that of 2000, to about 128,000,000lbs. In 2020, production fell to around 99,000,000lbs valued at just $17,028,000. The drop in value between 1998 and 2020 represents a 58% decline.
The current number of dairy farms in the state is 114, 42% less than in 1998. Production over that time declined by 65.5%. It took just over 20 years.
So, will New Jersey’s dairy industry continue to decline? Is it so hard to imagine that it will decline to nothing more than a few farms providing a roadside attraction? The kinds of farms that show you how things used to be? I don’t think so.
All data can be found at: https://www.nj.gov/agriculture/index.shtml
My opinion can be found in my head. Let me know how you think things will pan out.