The Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection reported 266 dairy farms left the industry from January 1, 2020 to September 1, 2020. That’s a decline of 3.8%. For that same time period in 2019 there were 551 dairy farms that left. All together in 2019 there were 818 dairy farms that closed their doors, which is a 10% decline. In 2018 Wisconsin watched 638 dairy farms close down. Less than 2019, but still not great to hear.
Even though we hate to see farms shutting down, we are seeing less farms leave the industry this year compared to last year. Yes, farms are still closing, but at a much slower rate than in years past.
