Each month, five Tennessee dairy farmers milk their last cow. There are four major reasons. The average Tennessee dairy farmer is older than 50, Montgomery explained. Some are just tired out and ready to retire from a seven-day work week. And fewer and fewer of their children are making the dairy farm their life's work.
Environmental factors take a toll on farmers, too.
The cost of compliance with new waste-management regulations is high. They don't have the money or land to satisfactorily take care of the waste and they therefore look at new management practices as an investment too high to return a profit. Then there are those who must contend with skyrocketing land values, Montgomery said. A good percentage of dairies, particularly in middle Tennessee, are on prime industrial and home-site land. Those close to the Saturn or Nissan plants or their allied industries were able to sell off for plants or subdivisions, pay off their debt, and get out.