Facts and Figures
Take any back road in Vermont and you'll be treated to incredible vistas of grazing cows, barns of all shapes and sizes, and fields of crops all set against our spectacular hills and mountains. These rustic scenes attract tourists and work to produce high quality dairy products that support Vermont's economy. Find out just how much the dairy industry supports our state.
- Dairy farms generate over $68 million per year in state and local government tax revenue.
- Dairy products sold directly from Vermont farms generate over $560 million of income and 7,500 jobs.
- Vermont dairy farmers purchase 98 percent of their supplies locally.
- The sale of milk from Vermont dairy farms puts about $1 million a day back into our economy.
- Gross sales of cheese, ice cream, dips, cream cheese, yogurt, fluid milk and milk powder total about $1.2 billion per year.
- The average Vermont dairy farm has 130 cows.
- The four most common purebred cows in Vermont are Holstein, Jersey, Ayshire and Guernsey.
Dairy Index
As in any other industry, dairy farms need to turn a profit in order to stay in business. That means they need to be able to sell their milk for more than it costs them to produce it. However, this is sometimes difficult because farms do not set the price they are paid for their milk. The federal government, with some regional differences, sets the price nationally. This table shows the cost per gallon to produce milk in Vermont and the price that farmers are paid per gallon of milk. This is an average cost to produce milk that is calculated once per year and is available each May.
| Date | Farmer Cost/Gal | Farmer Paid/Gal |
|---|---|---|
| 09/26/12 | $1.70 | $1.59 |
| 08/29/12 | $1.70 | $1.59 |
| 07/25/12 | $1.70 | $1.49 |
| 06/26/12 | $1.70 | $1.43 |
| 05/29/12 | $1.70 | $1.45 |
| 04/24/12 | $1.70 | $1.48 |
