Traditional farming states, such as Wisconsin,
are losing three to four small farms a day, while large
dairy feedlots in non-traditional farming states, such as California,
continue to grow in size and number.
By 1995, California surpassed Wisconsin
as the number one dairy-producing state,
selling $162 million more in dairy products
that year than Wisconsin.
There are 1,600 dairy farms in California's Central
Valley, which generate more waste than 21 million people.
Dairy Talking Points
Talking points on the problems with Dairy CAFOs, by GFFP consultant Karen Hudson.
California Animal Waste Management
California is the nation's number one dairy
state. Its 1.4 million dairy cows produced
3.2 billion gallons of milk in 1998, generating
18% of the national supply and over $3.6
billion in sales. This EPA web page documents
animal waste problems and regulations specific
to California.
Erath
County's Booming Dairy Industry Pollutes
Texas' Waterways
Erath is home to over 200 dairy feedlots - contains downloadable video footage.
(Texas Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility)
Is there "Krap" in your Kraft
Singles?
Big food processing companies save money
by buying cheap imported Milk Protein Concentrate
(MPC) rather than paying a fair price to
U.S. dairy farmers. The result? Family farmers
face even more depressed domestic milk prices
and go out of business, consumers get less
wholesome food and taxpayers foot the bill
to subsidize suffering US farms. Factsheet
and tips on what to do from Family Farm Defenders.
Kern County, CA Dairy Watch
Links to information about this region of
concentrated dairy activity and other dairy
issues, plus online discussion forum.
Tail
Docking Dairy Cattle
Tail docking of dairy cattle, or amputating half or more of the cow's tail, first
became a routine practice among dairy farmers in New Zealand. Today, it is also
practiced in Australia and Ireland and is becoming routine on an increasing number
of North American dairy farms. (Marlene Halverson, Animal Welfare Institute,
2002)
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