Milking COVID-19

Photo courtesy USDA

The U.S. is the largest milk producing country in the world, but overall milk consumption in the U.S. has decreased from 21.5 gallons per person in 2004 to almost 17 gallons in 2019. 

The delicate nature of dairy products caused the industry to be poorly affected by COVID-19. Dairy products are perishable and have to be delivered quickly, they are also temperature sensitive and have to be transported by specialized equipment.  

The Journal of Integrative Agriculture (JIA) states that approximately 5% of U.S. milk product produced in April 2020 had to be discarded, this rate continued to rise through June. They journal also states that 2.3% more milking cows were slaughtered in April 2020.  

According to JIA the U.S. dairy industry suffered as a result of grocery stores being closed. When the pandemic first began there was a rush to purchase products including dairy products, but when people began ordering groceries online the purchase of dairy products dropped.  

Socially it is not widely accepted to use dry or bagged milk in the U.S. these products last longer and can easily be purchased through online delivery. The lack of these products in the U.S. prevented citizens from purchasing dairy products online.  

The U.S. exports 15% of its dairy products annually but this increased in the first 6 months of 2020 due to increased dry dairy product exports according to JIA. 

The increase export of dry milk products did not stop financial difficulties from affecting U.S. dairy farmers.  

Trade conflictions during the pandemic did cause a loss for the dairy industry as major exports were lost in milk and cheese products. 

The lack of trading of dairy products that are not dry combined with lack of U.S. buyers during the pandemic caused financial loss for large and small dairy farms.  

The U.S. dairy industry is considered by dairy farmers to be unstable according to JIA, most dairies do not ensure that their business will continue in the next five years.  

The number of dairy farms has been dropping since 1992 according to Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), due to larger dairy farms driving out smaller dairy farms.  

The loss of jobs and money may also impact U.S. citizen purchases of dairy products. Based on the development of countries from developing to developed countries, it is assumed that as people gain wealth they often purchase more meat and dairy products. As wealth drops in the U.S., the purchase of dairy products may also continue to fall.