America's still got milk, but 95% fewer dairy farms

+ expect challenges to PA's presidential election results in November US Edition - Today's top story: America's dairy farms are disappearing, down 95% since the 1970s − milk price rules are one reason why [View in browser]( US Edition | 16 September 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [Genetically modified plants for home gardens?]( - [Better way to measure wildfire smoke exposure]( - [‘Halal mortgages’ reflect Islamic finance precepts]( Lead story Do you know where your milk comes from? A few decades ago, your grocery store might have carried milk from local farms. Milk might even have been delivered to your doorstep. When I was very young, I remember my mother would get milk in glass bottles that had been filled at a dairy a few miles away. Since the early 1970s, however, [95% of America’s dairy farms have disappeared](, replaced by large operations that make knowing where your food comes from much more difficult today. Liz Eckelkamp, a dairy specialist at the University of Tennessee, explains what happened to the industry, and how federal milk pricing rules that were meant to help farmers left many of them struggling to turn a profit. [ [Understand what’s going on in Washington and around the world. Get our Politics Weekly newsletter.]( ] Stacy Morford Environment + Climate Editor Today's newsletter supported by [readers like you.]( Running a dairy farm isn’t easy, especially when the costs of production rise faster than income. AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall [America’s dairy farms are disappearing, down 95% since the 1970s − milk price rules are one reason why]( Elizabeth Eckelkamp, University of Tennessee Dairy farms are struggling to survive as production costs exceed sales. The result, consolidation, with more cows on bigger farms, has an impact on communities and knowing where your food comes from. 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Processed foods will contain high amounts of additives, salt, and simple carbohydrates, and saturated fat that fuel cravings and won’t satiate as well as whole foods." – Author Christopher Damman on the story [Is weight loss as simple as calories in, calories out? In the end, it’s your gut microbes and leftovers that make your calories count]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? You might be interested in our weekly and biweekly emails: • [Weekly Highlights]( • [Science Editors' Picks]( • [Giving Today]( [New!] • [This Week in Religion]( • [Politics Weekly]( • [Global Perspectives]( • [Global Economy & Business]( Follow us on social media: • [Bluesky]( • [Mastodon]( • [Threads]( • [Nostr]( • [LinkedIn]( • [Instagram]( • [Facebook]( • Or [get a daily text from us]( - - About The Conversation We're a nonprofit news organization dedicated to bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to [help you make sense of our complex world](. 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