National Dairy Month Highlights Washington’s Dairy Farmers
June is National Dairy month and the Dairy Farmers of Washington are using it to showcase the many dairy farmers throughout the state.
Director of Consumer Communications Blair Thompson highlighted a recent survey by WSU indicating the direct value of dairy farming, noting that there are more layers.
“When you actually throw the pebble in the pond and count all the ripples that come out from it, it adds up to about $5.2 billion per year, so fairly significant. Dairy is actually the second largest agricultural commodity produced in Washington, second only to apples.”
Thompson says there are also some misconceptions about dairy farmers that he hopes to correct.
“Of our approximately 430 dairy farms here in Washington, only two are not owned by the people who live on them and work on them, so all of our farms with the exception of those two are family dairies run by families. They may be corporations, but they’re family corporations.”
Thompson also noted the dairy farmer cares deeply about the cow and environment and works to keep their animals healthy and the environment clean.
For National Dairy Month, the Dairy Farmers of Washington are working with food banks to ensure that they have adequate supplies of milk and they are hosting a food and cash drive at the Richland Fred Meyer Thursday the 16th from 10-2 and a free food distribution at the Sunnyside ACS Mobile Food Bank on Friday the 17th from 11-1.
If you have a story idea for the Washington Ag Network, call (590) 547-1618, or e-mail krounce@cherrycreekradio.com.
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