New Delhi, Jan. 22 -- OPINION The phrase "big dairy" is often used to depersonalize dairy farmers and imply some large, faceless force foisting an agenda. Consolidation has occurred in agriculture for generations and family farms are expanding. But about three-quarters of U.S. dairy farms have fewer than 100 cows on them, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
The largest farms produce the most milk, but even the biggest ones - 189 dairies with more than 5,000 cows - are too numerous and geographically dispersed to create a monolithic giant, the federation stated. More than 95 percent of all dairy farms, regardless of size, are operated by families.
"Big dairy" also appears to be a misnomer when one takes into account corporations....