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Association profile: Missouri Dairy Association

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — The Missouri Dairy Association is working to preserve and empower dairy farms in the state to combat what executive director Dave Drennan said is a “steep decline” in Missouri’s dairy industry.

Drennan added 94,000 Missouri cows are dedicated to producing dairy. The amount of Grade-A dairies is about 900. Those numbers are half of what Drennan saw when he first started with the Missouri Dairy Association in 1995. One cow, he said, can bring in about $20,000.

“Unfortunately, the loss of dairy farmers in Missouri has been tragic,” Drennan said.

Executive Director Dave Drennan
Executive Director Dave Drennan

Several factors have snowballed to create the decline of dairy farms throughout Missouri, according to Drennan — one of which being recent droughts that “accelerated” the dairy decline.

“The grass dried up and that’s a source of feed and farmers had to import feed from other states. If they could find it, could they afford it?” Drennan said. “For some they couldn’t, and if you can’t feed your dairy cows the answer for some was to get out of the business. And once you’re out of the business, it’s very, very seldom that you come back.”

The economic recession took a toll on the dairy industry. The attraction to other opportunities to young people in dairy farming families has affected the dairy farms throughout Missouri. Because dairy farming is labor intensive, Drennan said, the majority of farmers depend on their families to help. But the next generation of dairy farmers have found Monday through Friday, 40-hours-per-week jobs with health insurance in towns and cities, leaving their farm lives behind.

Drennan also said dairy farmers have found other agriculture opportunities, such as raising cattle for meat.

But, Drennan and the association are working to paint a brighter picture, such as working with the Interim Committee on Emerging Issues in Agriculture, he said.

Policy (specifically Rep. Casey Guernsney, R-Bethany, and Rep. Bill Reiboldt, R-Neosho) and possible 2014 legislation, the dairy farms in Missouri could have some hope.

Previous 2013 legislation, Drennan said, would have given a tax credit for Missouri cattlemen to buy feed, upgrade facilities and help with drought relief. The legislation never reached the Missouri Senate because of a filibuster.

In addition to collaborating with legislators, Drennan said the association supports and advises its members through regional meetings. Dairy farming, Drennan said, is not for the “faint of heart.”

“As one of my dairy farmers said yesterday, ‘If you don’t have a family or a close neighbor that can help you get some land or cows, it’s tough to get into, to enter the business.’ It’s not like setting up a hamburger stand at the corner of Olive and Woodsmill,” Drennan said. “It’s much more than that. For most of our dairy farmers, it’s their livelihoods. It’s all they’ve ever known.”

During January, the Missouri Dairy Association will host the Heart of America Dairy Expo in Springfield, Mo. The expo has attracted 50 exhibitors to educate dairy farmers and enthusiasts about the newest advancements in the industry.