U.S. dairy farms vary widely in size, from fewer than 50 dairy cows to having 2,000 or more.
While many factors can influence a dairy farm’s production cost per unit of milk, such as technology use, management, and input prices paid, farm size can also affect costs.
The Economic Research Service estimates the cost of milk production by dairy herd size based on the Agricultural Resource Management Surveys conducted every five to six years.
Based on the past five surveys, the average total production cost per 100 pounds of milk sold has been consistently lower for dairy farms with larger herd sizes.
In 2021, the average total cost per 100 pounds of milk sold was $42.70 for herds with fewer than 50 cows.
Farms with 2,000 or more had a cost of $19.14.
Lower per-unit production costs are attributable to spreading at least some expenses over a greater output.
