Growing North Carolina’s Dairy Industry

Dr. Shannon Davidson Extension Associate

Department of Animal Science North Carolina State University

Raleigh, NC

Southern Dairy Conference Atlanta, GA

January 25, 2012

Fluid milk market in a milk deficit state

2011: 45,000 milk cows in NC on 285 farms

Average herd size = 158 cows

North Carolina Dairy Industry

North Carolina Dairy Industry

NC farm numbers dropped from 1132 (1987) to 285 (2011)

Milk production dropped from 1,514 million lb (1987) to

903 million lbs (2011)

Population growth in NC

6.6 million (1990) to 9.5 million (2010)

NC milk production meets

about one half of current

demand for fluid milk

North Carolina Dairy Industry

North Carolina has 7 Grade A milk

processing plants, 1 large commercial

cheese processing plant and over

40 farmstead dairy operations

NC cows milk 20,067 lb/cow/year

1st in Southeast

NC’s farm price for milk consistently

ranks amongst the highest in the country

Progressive producers are leading the charge to stabilize and grow the NC Dairy Industry

The North Carolina Association for Dairy Stabilization and Growth, Inc.

2007: NC Dairy Industry Strategic Plan developed to address retention, recruitment, relocation, and long term viability of the industry

2008: 501(c)3 incorporated

2009: Dairy Development Coordinator hired

Matt Lange

2009 and 2010: 2 Dairy Extension Associates hired by NCSU

Dr. Shannon Davidson (Animal Science)

Mike Roberts (Agricultural and Resource Economics)

Goals Enhance the value of milk

and dairy products

produced in the state

Enhance the dairy farm

family quality of life

Increase the volume of milk

produced in the state

Support the number of dairy farms in the state

Resource Network

NC Coop. Extension

NC Dairy Processors

Allied Dairy Industry

NC Dairy Producers Association

NC Dept. of Agriculture

NC State University

Banking

Realty

NC Department of Environment &

Natural Resources

Dairy Cooperatives

NC Feed, Equipment, & Supply Dealers

Ag. Support Non-Profits

Retail

NCADFP, Golden Leaf, Ag & Dairy

Foundations

NC Association for Dairy Stabilization &

Growth, Inc. -Board of Directors

NC Dairy Advantage -Steering Committee -Program Committee:

Matt Lange, Dr. Shannon Davidson,

Mike Roberts

NC Dairy Industry

Dairy Farm Assessment

“Snapshot” of a dairy farm

Overview of financial state, herd

health, nutrition, milk quality,

reproduction, and management

Identify strengths and weaknesses

Prioritize possible issues and

recommend solutions

Provides producers an evaluation of farm performance and contributes to industry data on cost of production

Dairy Profit Team

Dairy producer-led group

Goal of increasing farm profitability

Farm management efficiency

Explores opportunities and challenges

The producer decides who is on the team

May include their Extension agent, veterinarian, nutritionist, accountant, etc.

Profit Team goal is to improve long term viability

Answers questions, reports on relevant research, and offers suggestions to help the producer make more effective and efficient decisions

Farm Assessment & Profit Team

Completed 13 Farm Assessments, 10 planned for 2012

2 Profit teams ongoing, 4 to begin in 2012

Farm Assessment process identifies candidates for Profit Teams

Next step is developing

training programs for

potential Profit Team

members

Advantage 1-on-1

Provides direct assistance to NC dairy producers and answers to specific dairy business questions

Offers timely and accurate information and resources

Purpose is to enable NC dairy producers to make the best decisions possible ̶ giving them a competitive edge

Responded to over 200 requests since Jan 2009

Dairy Strategy Series

Partnering with NCSU and NC Cooperative Extension Service to focus on practical solutions to dairy producer issues through educational programs and interactive workshops

Recent topics include

Marketing Alternatives

Nutrient Management

Value-added Workshop

Value-Added & Other Opportunities

Diversification

Grazing = significant growth potential

Organic = demand increasing

6 organic herds

Value-Added = #1 in Southeast

3 currently in development of bottling

4 in development of making cheese

12 more looking at other options

NC Dairy Artisan Network and

new “Got to be NC Dairy Products”

campaign through NC Dept. of Ag.

NC Dairy Artisan Products

Promotional booths at North Carolina State Fair and Mountain State Fair

Cheesemakers gave out over 80,000 samples in 2010

Commodity milk dairy producers, “Meet your NC Dairy Farmer”

World Dairy Expo Tour & Booth

Traveled with NC dairy producers

to Madison, WI for World Dairy Expo

20 individuals from 9 NC dairy farms

Great opportunity to learn about

latest technology and opportunities

in the Dairy industry

Booth has helped recruit new dairies

Myers Farms, Inc featured as a Virtual Farm tour at 2011 Expo

Over 600 views

Dairy Start Up, Renovation, & Relocation

Work with realtors & consultants to locate

Farmland to buy

Existing dairy farms for sale or lease

Equipment

Labor

Grow new dairy producers whether they are in-state or from another country

Three new dairies – 300 total milk cows

Currently two new dairies in the process of starting up

Working with at least seven more families looking to start dairy farms in NC

Young Dairy Farmer Development

Dairy 2040

Bringing together young NC dairy

producers focused on management

success combined with dairy

industry partners

Statewide conference for dairy

producers under 45

Spin off with smaller, regional working groups

Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin business conference

Received grants from PDPW foundation in 2011 and 2012

Sent 2 producers to conference in 2011

Sparked producer networking

Communication & Information Distribution

NC Dairy Advantages Newsletter

Facebook – 258 people like “NC Dairy Advantage”

Web site – www.ncdairyadvantage.com

Dairy contact information

Dairy Farm Surveys

Benchmarking Data

Dairy Advantage “Blogging”

NC Dairy Appreciation Dinner

Impact of NC Dairy Advantage

Individual Dairy Farm Profitability and Viability

Advantage 1-on-1, Farm Assessments and Profit Teams

Facilitation of Industry-wide Education and Interaction

NC Dairy 2040, NC Dairy Artisan’s Network, Dairy Strategy Series,

NC Dairy Appreciation Dinner

Improved Communication

Dairy Advantages newsletter, website, facebook

Growth of NC Dairy Industry

Reinvestment

Relocation

Recruitment

For more information contact:

Dr. Shannon Davidson Matt Lange

NCSU Box 7621 NC Dairy Development Coordinator

Raleigh, NC 27695 1816-A Malone Rd.

(919) 515-4045 work Burlington, NC 27215

(919) 244-5756 cell (919) 740-1762

Shannon_Davidson@ncsu.edu mlange@ncdairyadvantage.com