Dairy processors stretched by milk production gains
According to a CoBank report, targeted plant expansions, new construction and joint ventures could help processors meet rising processing demand and aid export markets.
Each year, U.S. dairy farmers produce 3 billion more pounds of milk than they did the year before. In the past few years, production growth has outpaced processing capacity growth, and dairy processors are struggling to keep pace, according to “Dairy Processors Race to Keep Pace with Milk Production,” a new report from the Knowledge Exchange Division of Denver-based CoBank.
“Dairy processors are faced with the challenge of handling an ever-growing milk supply, while anticipating the right product mix to meet consumer demand,” said Ben Laine, senior dairy economist with CoBank. “An additional 27 billion pounds of U.S. milk processing capacity will be needed over the next 10 years if current trends persist.”