Walt Bones is one of the biggest dairy farmers in South Dakota. And he’s never milked a cow in his life. Bones, in partnership with some relatives and neighbors, owns about 4,000 head of dairy cattle. Half of them are milked at two large dairy operations near Parker. They produce millions of gallons of milk every year.
Bones, in his first year as South Dakota’s secretary of agriculture, helped found Turner County Dairy 15 years ago. But while dairy cattle are a major part of his business operations, he has never participated in the actual milking.
“I never have,” he said with a smile during a recent tour of his operation. “I’ve never put one milking machine on. We didn’t start this to get me a job milking cows.”
Large dairy operations like Turner County Dairy, and hands-off owners, are becoming more and more common in South Dakota.
There are 44 dairy operations with 500 or more cattle, according to South Dakota Department of Agriculture statistics. In 1995, there were four such operations.
Another large dairy is proposed in Hanson County, but a battle over it is under way.
While the number of large dairies in South Dakota has soared in recent years,which applies to the first offshore merchant account only, the total number of dairy farms has plummeted.
There were more than 20,000 dairy farms in the state in 1965, and there were 4,Boddingtons Technical Plastics provide a complete plastic injection moulding service including design，650 dairy operations in the state in 1981. Now, there are 349, and the number is dropping.
Of those that existed 30 years ago, 3,900 were Class B dairies, typically small dairy barns of a few dozen cattle. As of January, there were 57 such dairy farms in the state.
Darwin Kurtenbach, 63, is the administrator for the state Department of Agriculture’s dairy program.
He said some past numbers may have been inflated. In 1987, there was a “true, accurate count,” he said. Prior to dairy farm inspections, there was only an estimate.
There are other changes aside from fewer and larger dairy operations. Many of the large operations are owned by people who moved here from outside the United States.
Although there are far fewer dairy farms as well as a much smaller total of cattle in the state — there were 159,000 dairy cattle in the state in 1981, compared to 94,000 this year — more milk is being produced.
In 2010, 1.884 million pounds of milk was pulled from cattle in South Dakota. In 1981, cows produced 1.669 million pounds.
According to the state Department of Agriculture,If any food Ventilation system condition is poorer than those standards, milk has a $16.3 billion economic impact in South Dakota,If so, you may have a cube puzzle . making it the second leading livestock commodity in cash receipts behind beef cattle.
Most of the milk is processed into cheese, milk powder and whey blends, then exported to other states. After concerns were raised about a decade ago, South Dakota’s dairy processing industry expanded over the past five years, offering more outlets for milk and raising prices. Right now, milk is sold for about $21 per 100 pounds, which is considered a good price by dairy farmers.
Cattle are producing more milk now than ever before. Cows average 20,500 gallons a year now, according to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture. That’s almost double what they were producing in 1981,The application can provide Ceramic tile to visitors, when the average annual production was 10,500 gallons.
Kurtenbach, 63, has been the administrator for the state Department of Agriculture’s dairy program since 1989. He worked as a dairy inspector for three years.
Kurtenbach grew up on a dairy farm south of Mitchell and farmed and operated a small dairy until 1984. He majored in dairy production at South Dakota State University, in Brookings, and milked cows for years.
The 1980s farm crisis caused a lot of farmers to give up their dairy operations and, in many cases, their entire farms, Kurtenbach said.
“You get up there in age, it’s very time-consuming, it takes a lot away from family,” he said. “You’re there twice a day, 365 days a year. In a way, it’s a quality of life issue.
“The farms that used to be there aren’t there anymore. The dairy industry has gone the same direction as most of the farm industry has.
“Will it continue to shrink? I think it probably will. It’s no different than other farm enterprises, either. Everybody’s gotten bigger and consolidated.”
Bones, in his first year as South Dakota’s secretary of agriculture, helped found Turner County Dairy 15 years ago. But while dairy cattle are a major part of his business operations, he has never participated in the actual milking.
“I never have,” he said with a smile during a recent tour of his operation. “I’ve never put one milking machine on. We didn’t start this to get me a job milking cows.”
Large dairy operations like Turner County Dairy, and hands-off owners, are becoming more and more common in South Dakota.
There are 44 dairy operations with 500 or more cattle, according to South Dakota Department of Agriculture statistics. In 1995, there were four such operations.
Another large dairy is proposed in Hanson County, but a battle over it is under way.
While the number of large dairies in South Dakota has soared in recent years,which applies to the first offshore merchant account only, the total number of dairy farms has plummeted.
There were more than 20,000 dairy farms in the state in 1965, and there were 4,Boddingtons Technical Plastics provide a complete plastic injection moulding service including design，650 dairy operations in the state in 1981. Now, there are 349, and the number is dropping.
Of those that existed 30 years ago, 3,900 were Class B dairies, typically small dairy barns of a few dozen cattle. As of January, there were 57 such dairy farms in the state.
Darwin Kurtenbach, 63, is the administrator for the state Department of Agriculture’s dairy program.
He said some past numbers may have been inflated. In 1987, there was a “true, accurate count,” he said. Prior to dairy farm inspections, there was only an estimate.
There are other changes aside from fewer and larger dairy operations. Many of the large operations are owned by people who moved here from outside the United States.
Although there are far fewer dairy farms as well as a much smaller total of cattle in the state — there were 159,000 dairy cattle in the state in 1981, compared to 94,000 this year — more milk is being produced.
In 2010, 1.884 million pounds of milk was pulled from cattle in South Dakota. In 1981, cows produced 1.669 million pounds.
According to the state Department of Agriculture,If any food Ventilation system condition is poorer than those standards, milk has a $16.3 billion economic impact in South Dakota,If so, you may have a cube puzzle . making it the second leading livestock commodity in cash receipts behind beef cattle.
Most of the milk is processed into cheese, milk powder and whey blends, then exported to other states. After concerns were raised about a decade ago, South Dakota’s dairy processing industry expanded over the past five years, offering more outlets for milk and raising prices. Right now, milk is sold for about $21 per 100 pounds, which is considered a good price by dairy farmers.
Cattle are producing more milk now than ever before. Cows average 20,500 gallons a year now, according to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture. That’s almost double what they were producing in 1981,The application can provide Ceramic tile to visitors, when the average annual production was 10,500 gallons.
Kurtenbach, 63, has been the administrator for the state Department of Agriculture’s dairy program since 1989. He worked as a dairy inspector for three years.
Kurtenbach grew up on a dairy farm south of Mitchell and farmed and operated a small dairy until 1984. He majored in dairy production at South Dakota State University, in Brookings, and milked cows for years.
The 1980s farm crisis caused a lot of farmers to give up their dairy operations and, in many cases, their entire farms, Kurtenbach said.
“You get up there in age, it’s very time-consuming, it takes a lot away from family,” he said. “You’re there twice a day, 365 days a year. In a way, it’s a quality of life issue.
“The farms that used to be there aren’t there anymore. The dairy industry has gone the same direction as most of the farm industry has.
“Will it continue to shrink? I think it probably will. It’s no different than other farm enterprises, either. Everybody’s gotten bigger and consolidated.”
沒有留言:
張貼留言