Transcript History of Dairy in Minnesota

Ms. Beucler
September 2011
HISTORY OF DAIRY IN MINNESOTA
FOREFATHERS
Early 1800’s
 Cattle brought into MN were for labor, leather,
manure, milk and meat
 Not specialized for milk production
 Most milk was consumed on the farm or by
neighbors

 If
the milk was from a town cow

Coop creameries were created to make and
market butter
 Herd
size increased due to a higher demand for
farm milk

Grain was cheaper, which meant high energy
concentrates were easy to get
 Fed
in increasing amounts leading to even more
milk production
Information provided by: The University of MN, Dairy Extension
EXTRAORDINARY CHANGES
Presently, the number of dairy farms is
decreasing all over the state and nation
 Numbers of cows on farms, however, are
increasing
 Pounds of milk per cow is increasing due to
genetic engineering and breed selection
 Bio-security has increased therefore producing
a much healthier and safer product

MN DAIRY STATS
MN is the 6th largest dairy state in the nation
 In 2009, MN had 469,000 head of dairy cows

 About

5% of the U.S. total
From 2007 to 2009, numbers have increased
after a long period of decline
 Many
other large dairy states have seen decreases
in the past decades
Information provided by: MN Department of Agriculture, Marketing Services
TOP PRODUCING COUNTIES IN MN

Stearns County is the largest dairy county in
Minnesota
 Followed
by Winona, Morrison, Wabasha, and Otter
Tail

Among the top 10 dairy counties, the four listed
above are the ones that achieved production
increases from 2000 to 2008
 The
others had production declines
Information provided by: MN Department of Agriculture, Marketing Services