Dairy Farms in New Hampshire Continue to Shutter

Dairy farms in the state of New Hampshire are closing rapidly. In 2010, the state had 130 dairy farms, which dropped to 121 by 2015. Last year, a total of 19 dairy farms shuttered in the state—due to declining world milk prices and prolonged drought. Local farmer Harold Bodwell stated that he reduced his herd from 260 cows to just 40 in the course of six months. Director of Granite State Dairy Promotion in New Hampshire Amy Hall says the current state of animal milk production is “a crisis … an impossible situation for dairy farmers.” On the other side of the country, many former dairy farmers in California have transitioned to cultivating almonds instead of milking cows in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions while tapping into the lucrative plant-based market.