1

Dairy Cattle and Milk Production 

A $35.5 billion industry, 9 percent of total U.S agriculture sales.

United States Department of Agriculture

National Agricultural Statistics Service

www.agcensus.usda.gov

(800)727-9540

ACH12-14/October 2014

Highlights

In 2012, sales of milk from cows in the United States totaled $35.5 billion, 

accounting for 9 percent of total U.S. agriculture sales. Although every state 

produces and sells milk, California and Wisconsin together account for a third 

of U.S. sales. 

The top ten 

states account 

for nearly 

three fourths 

of sales. The 

2012 Census 

of Agriculture 

provides a 

comprehensive 

picture of the 

dairy cattle 

industry. 

77 percent. . . 

. . . of farms that sold milk from 

cows in 2012 were family or 

individually owned.

Top States in Sales

($ billions)

California 6.9

Wisconsin 5.0

New York 2.4

Idaho 2.3

Pennsylvania 2.0

Texas 1.7

Minnesota 1.6

Michigan 1.5

New Mexico 1.3

Washington 1.1

Industry Size, Value, and Location

Sales of Milk from Cows as Percent of Agriculture Sales, by County, 2012

percent

< 1

1 - 4

5 - 14

15 - 29

30 - 49

50 +

U.S. = 9.0%

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

U.S. farmers had a combined 

inventory of 9.3 million milk cows at 

the end of 2012, down 0.2 percent 

from 2007, when the agriculture 

census was last conducted. The 

number of farms with milk cows 

declined 8 percent in that time, from 

69,890 farms in 2007 to 64,098 farms 

in 2012.

Farms specializing in dairy cattle and 

milk production (that is, farms with 

more than half of sales coming from 

the production of milk from cows) 

declined even more, from 57,318 

farms in 2007 to 46,005 farms in 2012 

(a 20 percent decline).

California led the country, with 1.8 

million milk cows at the end of 2012 

and $6.9 billion in 2012 milk sales. 

Wisconsin was second, with 1.3 

million milk cows and $5.0 billion in 

sales, followed by New York, Idaho, 

and Pennsylvania. These five states 

accounted for 52 percent of both milk 

cow inventory and milk sales. 
2 USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Producer Characteristics

The 2012 Census of Agriculture identified characteristics 

of those responsible for the day-to-day operation of farms 

specializing in dairy cattle and milk production. These 

farmers on average were younger (52 years old) than 

principal operators overall (58 years old). Five percent 

were women, a slight decrease from 2007, and lower than 

the proportion of female principal operators for all farms in 

2012.

Principal operators of dairy farms were more likely to 

consider farming their primary occupation in 2012 than in 

2007, and much more likely to do so than farmers overall. 

Nearly three fourths (73 percent) earned at least half of 

their income from farming, compared to only 22 percent for 

principal operators overall. Thirty-six percent derived all of 

their income from the farm. (Table 2)

Table 2 

Dairy Cattle and Milk Producers: Key Characteristics, 2007 and 2012

(principal operator)

2007 2012

All Farms

2012

percent

Gender

 Male 94 95 86

 Female 6 5 14

Age 

Under 45 years 28 28 16

45 to 64 years 56 57 51

65 years and older 16 15 33

Primary Occupation

 Farming 87 90 48

 Other 13 10 52

Percent of Income from Farming

 < 25% 23 20 70

 25% to 49% 8 7 8

 50% to 74% 14 15 9

 75% to 99% 22 22 7

 100% 33 36 6

Average Age (years) 51.6 51.9 58.3

Principal operator is the person responsible for day-to-day operation of the farm.

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

At the county level, 

seven of the top 

ten counties in 

milk sales were in 

California. Tulare 

County, California, 

ranked first in the 

nation, with $1.8 

billion in sales, or 5 

percent of U.S. milk 

sales.

Production Costs

Farms specializing in dairy cattle and milk production 

accounted for 97 percent of U.S. milk sales ($34.5 billion). 

Their production costs were $32.8 billion, up 31 percent 

from 2007. The largest expense item was feed, which 

totaled $15.6 billion, or nearly half (48 percent) of total production costs. Per farm average costs were $713,164, a 

64 percent increase over 2007. 

Farm Characteristics

In 2012, 77 percent of dairy farms were family or individually owned; they accounted for 45 percent of milk 

sales. In contrast, corporations accounted for 7 percent 

of farms and 19 percent of sales.

Between 2007 and 2012, the proportion of milk cow inventory on smaller operations declined and the proportion on 

larger operations increased. Operations with fewer than 

1,000 milk cows accounted for 60 percent of the U.S. milk 

cow inventory in 2007 and 51 percent in 2012. Operations 

with 1,000 or more milk cows accounted for 49 percent of 

2012 inventory, up from 40 percent in 2007. (Table 1)

Table 1

Milk Cow Inventory by Size of Operation, 2007 and 2012

No. of Milk Cows 

on Operation

2007 Inventory 2012 Inventory

millions % millions %

<50 0.7 7 0.6 6

50 – 99 1.3 14 1.0 11

100 – 999 3.6 39 3.1 34

1,000 – 2,499 1.7 18 1.9 20

2,500+ 2.0 22 2.6 29

Total U.S. inventory 9.3 100 9.3 100

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

Top Counties in Cow’s Milk Sales 

($ billions)

Tulare, CA 1.8 

Merced, CA 1.1

Gooding, ID 0.7

Stanislaus, CA 0.7

Kings, CA 0.6 

Kern, CA 0.5

Yakima, WA 0.4 

Lancaster, PA 0.4 

Fresno, CA 0.4 

San Joaquin, CA 0.4 

Does not include counties withheld to avoid disclosing 

individual data. 

Source: USDA NASS, 2012 Census of Agriculture.

To learn more about dairy cattle farming and milk 

production, the 2012 Census of Agriculture, and 

how to access national, state, and county data, 

go to:

www.agcensus.usda.gov