IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/ags/uersrr/344571.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Structure, Costs, and Technology Used on U.S. Dairy Farms

Author

Listed:
  • Gillespie, Jeffrey
  • Njuki, Eric
  • Terán, Angel

Abstract

The milk production segment of the U.S. dairy industry has experienced significant change over the past two decades. Various USDA data sources allow for analysis of how dairy farms have changed in structure and production costs. This study uses USDA’s Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS) dairy version data from 2000, 2005, 2010, 2016, and 2021 (and other USDA data) to examine changes in farm structure, production costs, and technology adoption and to compare dairy farms by size and production region over the past two decades. Methods used to analyze the data include the difference in means tests and stochastic frontier analysis. Dairy farm numbers have decreased, while milk production has increased; increases in the use of some advanced farm technology have occurred; larger farms benefit from economies of scale and are the greater users of advanced technologies and production systems; and there are regional differences in farm structure and cost of production.

Suggested Citation

  • Gillespie, Jeffrey & Njuki, Eric & Terán, Angel, 2024. "Structure, Costs, and Technology Used on U.S. Dairy Farms," Economic Research Report 344571, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersrr:344571
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.344571
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/344571/files/err-334.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.22004/ag.econ.344571?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. MacDonald, James M. & O'Donoghue, Erik J. & McBride, William D. & Nehring, Richard F. & Sandretto, Carmen L. & Mosheim, Roberto, 2007. "Profits, Costs, and the Changing Structure of Dairy Farming," Economic Research Report 6704, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. MacDonald, James M. & Cessna, Jerry & Mosheim, Roberto, 2016. "Changing Structure, Financial Risks, and Government Policy for the U.S. Dairy Industry," Economic Research Report 262200, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. William D. McBride & Sara Short & Hisham El-Osta, 2004. "The Adoption and Impact of Bovine Somatotropin on U.S. Dairy Farms," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 26(4), pages 472-488.
    4. Zdenko Stefanides & Loren W. Tauer, 1999. "The Empirical Impact of Bovine Somatotropin on a Group of New York Dairy Farms," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 81(1), pages 95-102.
    5. Stewart, Hayden & Kuchler, Fred & Dong, Diansheng & Cessna, Jerry, 2021. "Examining the Decline in U.S. Per Capita Consumption of Fluid Cow’s Milk, 2003–18," Economic Research Report 327183, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    6. Khanal, Aditya R. & Gillespie, Jeffrey M. & MacDonald, James M., 2010. "Adoption of Technology, Management Practices, and Production Systems in U.S. Milk Production," 2010 Annual Meeting, February 6-9, 2010, Orlando, Florida 56496, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.
    7. Short, Sara D., 2004. "Characteristics and Production Costs of U.S. Dairy Operations," Statistical Bulletin 262279, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    8. Stewart, Hayden & Kuchler, Fred & Dong, Diansheng & Cessna, Jerry, 2021. "Examining the Decline in U.S. Per Capita Consumption of Fluid Cow’s Milk, 2003–18," USDA Miscellaneous 316500, United States Department of Agriculture.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Cessna, Jerry & DelCurto, Molly & Terán, Angel & Crouse, Joseph, 2023. "Documentation for the USDA, Economic Research Service Annual U.S. Dairy Sector Econometric Model," Technical Bulletins 338950, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Gillespie, Jeffrey & Raszap Skorbiansky, Sharon & Law, Jonathan, 2024. "U.S. Certified Organic Dairy Production: Three Decades of Growth," Economic Research Report 346026, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. Erickson, Kenneth W. & Featherstone, Allen M. & Subedi, Dipak & Nehring, Richard F. & Harris, James Michael, 2017. "How Fluctuations in Farm and Off-Farm Income Could Affect the Financial Performance of U.S. Farm Operator Dairy Farms: A Farm-level Analysis," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258488, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Njuki, Eric, 2022. "Sources, Trends, and Drivers of U.S. Dairy Productivity and Efficiency," USDA Miscellaneous 323860, United States Department of Agriculture.
    5. Jeffrey Gillespie & Richard Nehring & Isaac Sitienei, 2014. "The adoption of technologies, management practices, and production systems in U.S. milk production," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 2(1), pages 1-24, December.
    6. Ralston, Katherine & Beaulieu, Elizabeth & Hyman, Jeffrey & Benson, Matthew & Smith, Michael, 2017. "Daily Access to Local Foods for School Meals: Key Drivers," Economic Information Bulletin 256713, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    7. An, Henry, 2008. "The Adoption and Disadoption of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin in the U.S. Dairy Industry," 2008 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2008, Orlando, Florida 6278, American Agricultural Economics Association (New Name 2008: Agricultural and Applied Economics Association).
    8. Sauer, Johannes & Zilberman, David, 2009. "Innovation Behaviour At Farm Level – Selection And Identification," 83rd Annual Conference, March 30 - April 1, 2009, Dublin, Ireland 51073, Agricultural Economics Society.
    9. Loren W. Tauer, 2009. "Estimation of Treatment Effects of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin Using Matching Samples," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 31(3), pages 411-423.
    10. Almuhanad Melhim & Erik J. O'Donoghue & C. Richard Shumway, 2009. "Do the Largest Firms Grow and Diversify the Fastest? The Case of U.S. Dairies," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 31(2), pages 284-302, June.
    11. Bradford L. Barham & Jeremy D. Foltz & Sunung Moon & Douglas Jackson-Smith, 2004. "A Comparative Analysis of Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin Adoption across Major U.S. Dairy Regions," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 26(1), pages 32-44.
    12. Monge, Juan J. & Bryant, Henry L. & Gan, Jianbang & Richardson, James W., 2016. "Land use and general equilibrium implications of a forest-based carbon sequestration policy in the United States," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 102-120.
    13. Eric Njuki & Boris E Bravo-Ureta & Víctor E Cabrera, 2020. "Climatic effects and total factor productivity: econometric evidence for Wisconsin dairy farms," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 47(3), pages 1276-1301.
    14. Richard J. Volpe & Timothy A. Park & Fengxia Dong & Helen H. Jensen, 2016. "Somatic cell counts in dairy marketing: quantile regression for count data," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 43(2), pages 331-358.
    15. Mkhabela, Thulasizwe S. & Mndeme, S.H., 2010. "The cost of producing milk in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands of South Africa: a cost-curve approach," Agrekon, Agricultural Economics Association of South Africa (AEASA), vol. 49(1), pages 1-21, March.
    16. Emma Jane Dillon & Thia Hennessy & Peter Howley & John Cullinan & Kevin Heanue & Anthony Cawley, 2018. "Routine inertia and reactionary response in animal health best practice," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(1), pages 207-221, March.
    17. Lesser, William H., 1997. "Assessing the Implications of IPR on Plant and Animal Agriculture," Staff Papers 121166, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    18. Läpple, Doris & Renwick, Alan & Thorne, Fiona, 2015. "Measuring and understanding the drivers of agricultural innovation: Evidence from Ireland," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 1-8.
    19. Dubman, Robert & Key, Nigel & Law, Jonathan & Litkowski, Carrie & Mandalay, Okkar & Subedi, Dipak & Todd, Jessica E & Whitt, Christine, 2021. "Agricultural Income and Finance Situation and Outlook: 2021 Edition," Economic Information Bulletin 327362, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    20. Gillespie, Jeffrey & Nyaupane, Narayan & McMillin, Kenneth & Harrison, Wes, 2014. "The Impact of Marketing Channels Used by U.S. Meat Goat Producers on Farm Profitability," 2014 Annual Meeting, February 1-4, 2014, Dallas, Texas 162499, Southern Agricultural Economics Association.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:ags:uersrr:344571. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: AgEcon Search (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/ersgvus.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.