State Statistics
North Carolina

2004 Dairy Statistics (Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service)
   Milk cows on farms: 57,000
   Average number of dairy farms licensed to sell milk: 375
   Annual average milk production per cow: 17,649 pounds
   Total milk produced: 1,006 million pounds

2002 North Carolina Dairy Facts (Courtesy: NCDA&CS)

The North Carolina dairy industry generated approximately $600 million in economic activity in 2002.

North Carolina has 12 Grade A milk processing plants. (10 Interstate milk shippers and 2 intrastate distributors)

Total milk produced in the state last year amounted to 132 million gallons.

There were 395 commercial dairy farms in North Carolina as of Jan. 1, 2003. In addition there were 5 Grade B dairy farms and 2 farmsteads (make cheese on the farm) in the state.

In North Carolina, cash receipts for the sale of milk by dairy farmers amounted to $155 million in 2002.

The price paid to North Carolina dairy farmers was an estimated $13.80 per hundred weight or approximately $1.17 for each gallon of milk they produced in 2002.

Last year there were 64,000 milk cows in the state.

Each dairy cow in North Carolina produced an average of 2,020 gallons of milk.

In North Carolina, about 65 percent of the milk produced in 2002 was used in fluid dairy products.

Last year, North Carolina dairy cows produced an average of 5.4 gallons of milk per day, or enough to make 5 pounds of cheese or 1.7 pounds of butter. To produce this much milk, a cow consumes 35 gallons of water, 20 pounds of grain and concentrated feeds and 70 pounds of corn silage.

The average daily expense per milking cow is about $7.50. Sales of other products associated with the dairy may equate to an additional $1.00 per cow per day. It takes $3.50 to pay for the feed, $1.30 for other livestock related expense and $2.70 to pay employees, operate machinery and cover the farm overhead. An additional $1.30 per cow is estimated as a family expense towards their labor and to provide for family living and pay off the farm debts.

In 2002, a dairy cow in North Carolina cost about $1,400. A typical North Carolina dairy herd has approximately 160 cows.

The top five ranking dairy counties based on number of dairy cows as of January 1, 2003 were: Iredell 11,500 cows, Alleghany 3,700 cows, Randolph 3,300 cows, Alexander 2,800 cows, Rowan 2,800 cows

Agricultural Statistics Division - Dairy Stats

Contact Information:

Department of Animal Science
North Carolina State University
Dairy Extension
Box 7621
Raleigh, North Carolina 27695-7621
Fax: 919-515-7780