Pennsylvania seventh in nation for milk production

Pennsylvania produces 10.6 billion pounds of milk annually, making it the seventh-largest milk producer in the nation.

The dairy industry contributes $14.1 billion to the state’s economy, supports 53,300 jobs, and has nearly 520,000 dairy cows. Since 2015, the Wolf administration has invested more than $50 million in the industry.

The Dairy Development Program created a five-part 2017 Pennsylvania Dairy Study that outlined strategic recommendations to strengthen the industry, upon which the administration acted.

A total of $15 million was appropriated to the PA First Industries Fund to incentivize dairy processors to relocate or expand operations in Pennsylvania. The PA Dairy Investment Program invested $10 million in 75 projects in 2018 and 2019 to strengthen processing and on-farm dairy investments and fund value-added processing, research and development, marketing, and organic transitions projects.

The PA Department of Agriculture has invested more than $8.7 million in the Center for Dairy Excellence.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the administration has allocated $5 million to the Pennsylvania Agricultural Surplus System and funded the $15 million COVID-19 Dairy Indemnity Program.

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and others recently toured Turner’s Dairy, a farm that benefited from state’s investments, in Western Pennsylvania.