09/29/2026
💵 😔 “Get big or get out,” said U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz, in the 1970’s.
Did Mr. Butz have any idea what he was proposing? His notion was a virtual death sentence for hundreds if not thousands of small farms.
When our parents passed ownership of our family dairy on to us in 2018, the AVERAGE number of cows on American dairies was around 250. In 2026 it is over 400 and climbing.
Large farms with 2,500 cows or more are still only around 4% of dairies in the country, but they drive 45-65% of our milk market. That makes our voice almost inaudible.
Mega dairies are fine-tuned machines. Their scale drives their efficiency. Input costs and labor intensity are the same for large and small dairies, but when you can spread that cost over thousands of cows, you widen your profit margin tremendously.
America doesn’t seem to need our girls and the milk they produce, when she can just truck her milk from a mega farm to wherever it’s wanted.
Sad, yes. Gloomy outlook, yes. But at least for today, there are 145 beautiful Holsteins still in our barn and they will still file in faithfully and bless us with their wholesome, delicious milk.
So will other cows on other small dairies around the country. They will be petted and talked to as one of the family, because when you spend every single day caring for them personally, that’s what they are. (Even if some of them are more like an annoying cousin that you try to avoid at family reunions but can’t… they’re family nonetheless.)
We aren’t looking to “get big” or get rich. We’re looking to keep the lights on by God’s grace. 🐄
