By DOUG GRAVES

Ohio Correspondent

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Dairy farming in Ohio isn’t as appealing as it once used to be. Statistics show that young college graduates of agriculture programs are looking elsewhere to make their living, not to the dairy industry.

There are disadvantages to dairy farming, such as long hours and high amounts of money involved in growing and maintaining the farm. In addition, many things can go wrong at one time, there are quota standards to meet, cattle can become ill and dairy herds require more feed and nutrients than that of a beef herd.

“Since June, 66 more Ohio dairy farms have ceased milking cows,” said Dianne Shoemaker, Ohio State University extension field specialist and an expert in dairy production economics. “Since October 2017, when there were 2,312 operating licensed dairy farms in Ohio, 172 farms have quit milking – a decline of 7.4 percent of dairy farms in one year.”

According to Shoemaker, by Sept. 25 this year, Ohio had 1,745 Grade A farms and 395 Grade M (manufacturing grade) operations, totaling 2,140 operating dairy farms.

“Sadly, (departing) numbers will continue to rise, as too many years of poor milk prices and unpredictable markets for milk, cull cows, breeding stock and feed take their toll,” she said.

She explained Ohio families have invested lifetimes and dollars developing breeding stock and facilities to raise and care for their animals and crops. Dairy farmers across the state are hoping to reverse this downtrend in their business, not only in Ohio but across the nation.

Scott Higgins, CEO of American Dairy Assoc. Mideast, believes a turnaround could come with proper marketing.

“Our capacity to produce has outpaced the marketing,” he said. “U.S. dairy production has jumped 82 percent since the dairy checkoff marketing program began in 1984. Marketing is the key.

“National pizza chains are using more cheese, and restaurants like McDonald’s are adding more dairy ingredients to their menus. Also, there’s a push to increase dairy exports from 15 percent of total U.S. production to 20 percent. We need to find a way to sell our way out of this.”

But before writing off dairy operations in the Buckeye State, one should know that Ohio’s dairy farmers do more than just produce milk. They create jobs, contribute to their communities and help drive the state’s economy. The total economic impact of dairy products produced and sold in Ohio is $23.44 billion.

In Ohio, dairy farming families milk more than 261,000 cows. As milk makes its journey from farm to table, it employs farm workers, truck drivers, construction workers, factory workers, retailers and others.

Statistics from the International Dairy Foods Assoc. point out that Ohio’s industry provides 114,053 jobs for Ohioans. Ohio exports $144 million in dairy products each year, generating $418 million in economic impact.

Ohio ranks 11th in milk production nationally, generating 10.3 billion pounds of milk annually. Neighbor Michigan ranks seventh, at 10.3 billion pounds, while Iowa comes in 12th with 4.8 billion pounds and Indiana ranks 14th.

Nationally, Ohio ranks first in Swiss cheese production, second in low-fat cottage cheese production, fourth in total number of dairy manufacturing plants, fifth in hard ice cream production and 10th in all cheese production.