Dairy Consumption Up Pt 2
From the Ag Information Network, I’m Bob Larson. U.S. dairy consumption continues a 50-year growth trend that began in 1975.
But, according to Farm-First Dairy Cooperative’s Jeff Lyon, COVID had an unexpected benefit for producers, with many families staying home and adopting a more wholesome diet that includes more dairy …
LYON … “Bunch of people found out that they really do like dairy because we saw that great resurgence, and they found out, hey – we like this. Tasting milk is good, we had a lot because we’re eating at home, and it’s cheap, and everything we’ve been consuming has been good.”
Since the nation’s dairy herds are more efficient than ever, producing more milk from fewer animals, Lyon says it’s important to have steady markets …
LYON … “If we didn’t see that increase, in either the domestic consumption or increases in our exports, where would that milk go? And what would our dairy industry look like? It’d be contracted severely, so it’s all good news.”
Including, U.S. dairy EXPORTS that are rising quickly when other world markets are no longer moving the needle …
LYON … “There is a real opportunity, I think, for us to even expand on the percentage of milk equivalent that gets exported. It was reported one out of every six tankers of milk is basically exported. And I recall, I think, it wasn’t too long ago that that number was one out of seven.”
Lyon says there’s no question more and more people are realizing the benefits of dairy.
Visit www.holsteinusa.com for more information.
