California Dairy Industry in Flux

California’s three largest dairy cooperatives petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently to create a Federal Milk Marketing Order for the state, according to news from the Farm Journal.

Dairy Farmers of America, California Dairies Inc., and Land O’Lakes, which collectively represents 75 percent of the state’s milk production, submitted the petition. Their hope is the move will lead to higher milk prices for California producers.

“For far too long, California’s dairy farmers have struggled under a system that artificially discounts the value of the milk they produce,” said Sybrand Vander Dussen, president of the Milk Producers Council, “to the tune of more than $1.5 billion in the past five years.”

Dairy farmers are confronted with ongoing drought conditions and the loss of dairy feed acreage to permanent crops such as almonds, pistachios and walnuts, the Journal reported.

Across California’s Central Valley, almond acreage has increased to 940,000 acres, which is a 47% increase in 10 years.

The federal order process could take up to two years. S