Herd Size and Production

Although farms with fewer than 100 cows make up 72 percent of the total farms in the milkshed, they only provide about 35 percent of the total milk supply. On the other end, the larger farms with more than 200 cows, or about 8 percent of the total farms, also supply about 35 percent of the milk. (The 80 farms having more than 400 cows, or the group representing about 2 percent of the total number of farms, supply about 13 percent of total supply.)  The middle group of farms, with 100-200 cows and comprising the other 30 percent of the farms, also provide 30 percent of the milk, and thus serve as an essential anchor at the middle of the milkshed.  (Attachments 2c and 2d).