Growing North Carolina’s Dairy Industry Dr. Shannon Davidson Extension Associate Department of Animal Science North Carolina State University Raleigh, NC Southern Dairy Conference Atlanta, GA January 25, 2012

North Carolina Dairy Industry  Fluid milk market in a milk deficit state  2011: 45,000 milk cows in NC on 285 farms  Average herd size = 158 cows

North Carolina Dairy Industry  NC farm numbers dropped from 1132 (1987) to 285 (2011)  Milk production dropped from 1,514 million lb (1987) to 903 million lbs (2011)  Population growth in NC  6.6 million (1990) to 9.5 million (2010)

 NC milk production meets about one half of current demand for fluid milk

North Carolina Dairy Industry  North Carolina has 7 Grade A milk processing plants, 1 large commercial cheese processing plant and over 40 farmstead dairy operations  NC cows milk 20,067 lb/cow/year  1st in Southeast

 NC’s farm price for milk consistently ranks amongst the highest in the country  Progressive producers are leading the charge to stabilize and grow the NC Dairy Industry

The North Carolina Association for Dairy Stabilization and Growth, Inc.  2007: NC Dairy Industry Strategic Plan developed to address retention, recruitment, relocation, and long term viability of the industry  2008: 501(c)3 incorporated  2009: Dairy Development Coordinator hired  Matt Lange

 2009 and 2010: 2 Dairy Extension Associates hired by NCSU  Dr. Shannon Davidson (Animal Science)  Mike Roberts (Agricultural and Resource Economics)

Goals  Enhance the value of milk and dairy products produced in the state  Enhance the dairy farm family quality of life  Increase the volume of milk produced in the state  Support the number of dairy farms in the state

Resource Network NC Dairy Industry NC Dairy Processors

NC State University

NC Dept. of Agriculture NC Coop. Extension Dairy Cooperatives NCADFP, Golden Leaf, Ag & Dairy Foundations

Allied Dairy Industry Realty

NC Association for Dairy Stabilization & Growth, Inc. -Board of Directors NC Dairy Advantage -Steering Committee -Program Committee: Matt Lange, Dr. Shannon Davidson, Mike Roberts

NC Dairy Producers Association NC Feed, Equipment, & Supply Dealers NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources Ag. Support Non-Profits Banking Retail

Dairy Farm Assessment  “Snapshot” of a dairy farm  Overview of financial state, herd health, nutrition, milk quality, reproduction, and management  Identify strengths and weaknesses  Prioritize possible issues and recommend solutions  Provides producers an evaluation of farm performance and contributes to industry data on cost of production

Dairy Profit Team  Dairy producer-led group  Goal of increasing farm profitability  Farm management efficiency  Explores opportunities and challenges

 The producer decides who is on the team  May include their Extension agent, veterinarian, nutritionist, accountant, etc.

 Profit Team goal is to improve long term viability  Answers questions, reports on relevant research, and offers suggestions to help the producer make more effective and efficient decisions

Farm Assessment & Profit Team  Completed 13 Farm Assessments, 10 planned for 2012  2 Profit teams ongoing, 4 to begin in 2012  Farm Assessment process identifies candidates for Profit Teams  Next step is developing training programs for potential Profit Team members

Advantage 1-on-1  Provides direct assistance to NC dairy producers and answers to specific dairy business questions  Offers timely and accurate information and resources  Purpose is to enable NC dairy producers to make the best decisions possible ̶ giving them a competitive edge  Responded to over 200 requests since Jan 2009

Dairy Strategy Series  Partnering with NCSU and NC Cooperative Extension Service to focus on practical solutions to dairy producer issues through educational programs and interactive workshops  Recent topics include  Marketing Alternatives  Nutrient Management  Value-added Workshop

Value-Added & Other Opportunities  Diversification  Grazing = significant growth potential  Organic = demand increasing  6 organic herds

 Value-Added = #1 in Southeast  3 currently in development of bottling  4 in development of making cheese  12 more looking at other options

 NC Dairy Artisan Network and new “Got to be NC Dairy Products” campaign through NC Dept. of Ag.

NC Dairy Artisan Products  Promotional booths at North Carolina State Fair and Mountain State Fair  Cheesemakers gave out over 80,000 samples in 2010  Commodity milk dairy producers, “Meet your NC Dairy Farmer”

World Dairy Expo Tour & Booth  Traveled with NC dairy producers to Madison, WI for World Dairy Expo  20 individuals from 9 NC dairy farms

 Great opportunity to learn about latest technology and opportunities in the Dairy industry  Booth has helped recruit new dairies  Myers Farms, Inc featured as a Virtual Farm tour at 2011 Expo  Over 600 views

Dairy Start Up, Renovation, & Relocation  Work with realtors & consultants to locate    

Farmland to buy Existing dairy farms for sale or lease Equipment Labor

 Grow new dairy producers whether they are in-state or from another country  Three new dairies – 300 total milk cows  Currently two new dairies in the process of starting up  Working with at least seven more families looking to start dairy farms in NC

Young Dairy Farmer Development  Dairy 2040  Bringing together young NC dairy producers focused on management success combined with dairy industry partners  Statewide conference for dairy producers under 45  Spin off with smaller, regional working groups

 Professional Dairy Producers of Wisconsin business conference  Received grants from PDPW foundation in 2011 and 2012  Sent 2 producers to conference in 2011  Sparked producer networking

Communication & Information Distribution  NC Dairy Advantages Newsletter  Facebook – 258 people like “NC Dairy Advantage”  Web site – www.ncdairyadvantage.com  Dairy contact information  Dairy Farm Surveys  Benchmarking Data  Dairy Advantage “Blogging”  NC Dairy Appreciation Dinner

Impact of NC Dairy Advantage  Individual Dairy Farm Profitability and Viability  Advantage 1-on-1, Farm Assessments and Profit Teams

 Facilitation of Industry-wide Education and Interaction  NC Dairy 2040, NC Dairy Artisan’s Network, Dairy Strategy Series, NC Dairy Appreciation Dinner

 Improved Communication  Dairy Advantages newsletter, website, facebook

 Growth of NC Dairy Industry  Reinvestment  Relocation  Recruitment

For more information contact:

Dr. Shannon Davidson NCSU Box 7621 Raleigh, NC 27695 (919) 515-4045 work (919) 244-5756 cell [email protected]

Matt Lange NC Dairy Development Coordinator 1816-A Malone Rd. Burlington, NC 27215 (919) 740-1762 [email protected]