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Milk production growth aligns with processing expansions

An ag economist says the recent growth in cow numbers in certain regions is reflective of where there is room for processing. 

Ben Laine with Rabo AgriFinance says pandemic challenges have led some producers to grow not based on farm economics, milk prices, or feed costs, but rather by who’s buying.

“We’ve seen more and more cheese plants coming into the middle of the country, expanding in the middle of the country, breaking ground, and so it’s really more about finding a market for that milk,” he explains.

He says that’s contrary to past trends which put processing closer to populations to supply fluid milk.

Brownfield’s Larry Lee interviewed Laine during the recent World Dairy Expo.