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Nebraska trying to buck trend of declining dairy farms  

The president of the Nebraska State Dairy Association says the state is trying to reverse a trend that the number of dairy farms continue to decline.  

Mike Guenther tells Brownfield there are less than 100 farms, but expanding processing could incentivize production. “When you see these dairy farm numbers decline, and when the processing plants come, then that that’s when that trend will finally stop and they’ll actually start to increase.”

He says there are a handful of processing plants expanding or building, but farmers are also facing their own challenges. “We have a tough time with price and a lot of times there are milk prices because of the lack of options we have to go with our milk. This is another reason why it’s important to get the processing plants here. There’s just very few co-ops to choose from, or places even sell direct. When you have less competition, you really are kind of like on the bottom of the barrel at what you get paid.”

And, he says, drought has pushed feed prices higher for dairy farmers.

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