🇺🇸 The cattle breeds of the United States

The United States keeps dairy cattle on a vast scale: 9.1 million cows, many on very large farms, others on small family holdings in the Midwest and Northeast. Yield per cow has risen about fivefold since 1925, and the leading milk states are California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho and Texas.

• In 2007 the US milked 9.1 million cows, each giving over 20,000 lb a year.
• A dairy cow of 1925 gave about 4,200 lb of milk a year.
• Top milk states in 2017: California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho, Texas.
• US dairy farms fell from 111,800 in 1995 to 40,200.
• 49 percent of American dairy cows live on farms of 1,000 or more.

Cattle in the United States

Cattle keeping in the United States is dominated by the dairy cow. European settlers brought varied dairy traditions from home, and immigrant communities pooled their skills to bring the best of them over and make them better, so practice differs from state to state. The modern industry binds together farms, cooperatives and companies, right through to the firms that build milking machines. Herd size splits the country: very large units on the West Coast and in the Southwest, small family-scale herds where land is short in the Midwest and Northeast. Milk is the heart of the business, with cheese close behind. Farm numbers fall as each cow gives more.

Regions and communities

The milk map has a clear ranking. In 2017 the five leading states by total output were California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho and Texas, in that order. Dairy farming still matters in Florida, Minnesota, Ohio and Vermont. Style of keeping follows the same geography: the West Coast and Southwest favour very large herds, while Midwest and Northeast farms stay small because land is the limiting factor. Per-state production figures are tallied year by year, most recently for 2019.

Milk, butter and beef

Milk is the core product, and the modern American dairy cow gives a very large amount: more than 20,000 pounds a year, or about eight pounds to the gallon. In 1925 the average was around 4,200 pounds, so output per animal has roughly quintupled. That milk is made into cheese and other dairy goods and carried to consumers through cooperatives and companies. The industry supplies its own equipment as well, milking machines above all, and veal, the meat of young calves, is named among its related products.

Today

American dairying is consolidating. Farms have fallen from 111,800 in 1995 to 40,200, while the national herd stood at 9.1 million cows in 2007, against 1.5 to 2 million in 1925. Each cow now gives about five times the milk of her counterpart a century ago. Fewer farms, bigger herds, more milk per animal: that is the shape of the change, with 49 percent of cows now on farms of a thousand head or more.