MADISON, WIS. – While the number of dairy farms in Wisconsin is shrinking as small operations struggle to remain profitable, expanding commercial farms have continued to increase the state's milk production.
Numbers from the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection show the state lost 500 dairy farms last year, Wisconsin Public Radio reported . Wisconsin's dairy numbers have fallen more than 20 percent over the last five years. Just over 8,800 dairy herds were licensed in the state at the beginning of this year.
"The growth is really in the medium- to large-size dairy operations," said Steven Deller, a professor of agricultural and applied economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. "The growth in those sectors and the increase in productivity of being a bigger operation, the volume of milk is actually not being affected by this."
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