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Characteristics, Costs, and Issues for Organic Dairy Farming

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  • McBride, William D.
  • Greene, Catherine R.

Abstract

Organic milk production has been one of the fastest growing segments of organic agriculture in the United States in recent years. Despite the growing number of organic dairy operations, the characteristics of organic dairy operations and the relative costs of organic and conventional milk production have been difficult to analyze. This study, using 2005 ARMS data for U.S. dairy operations, which include a targeted sample of organic milk producers, examines the structure, costs, and challenges of organic milk production. The analysis addresses economies of size, regional differences, and pasture use in organic milk production and compares organic and conventional milk production costs. The findings suggest that economic forces have made organic operations more like conventional operations and that the future structure of the industry may depend on the interpretation and implementation of new organic pasture rules.

Suggested Citation

  • McBride, William D. & Greene, Catherine R., 2009. "Characteristics, Costs, and Issues for Organic Dairy Farming," Economic Research Report 55952, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    • Handle: RePEc:ags:uersrr:55952
    DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.55952
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Manchester, Alden C. & Blayney, Donald P., 2001. "Milk Pricing In The United States," Agricultural Information Bulletins 33612, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    2. Dimitri, Carolyn & Greene, Catherine R., 2002. "Recent Growth Patterns In The U.S. Organic Foods Market," Agricultural Information Bulletins 33715, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    3. MacDonald, James M. & O'Donoghue, Erik J. & McBride, William D. & Nehring, Richard F. & Sandretto, Carmen L. & Mosheim, Roberto, 2007. "Profits, Costs, and the Changing Structure of Dairy Farming," Economic Research Report 6704, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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    Cited by:

    1. Marasteanu, I. Julia & Jaenicke, Edward C., 2013. "Agglomeration and Spatial Dependence in Certified Organic Operations in the United States," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 149551, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    2. Wolf, Christopher A. & Tonsor, Glynn T. & Olynk, Nicole J., 2011. "Understanding U.S. Consumer Demand for Milk Production Attributes," Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Western Agricultural Economics Association, vol. 36(2), pages 1-17.
    3. MacDonald, James M., 2011. "Why Are Farms Getting Larger? The Case Of The U.S," 51st Annual Conference, Halle, Germany, September 28-30, 2011 115361, German Association of Agricultural Economists (GEWISOLA).
    4. Foreman, Linda F., 2014. "Characteristics and Production Costs of U.S. Corn Farms, Including Organic, 2010," Economic Information Bulletin 186730, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    5. repec:ags:aaea13:150610 is not listed on IDEAS
    6. Filip Hampl, 2020. "A statistical analysis of the financial performance of organic and conventional farms in the Czech Republic with respect to their size," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 66(1), pages 1-9.
    7. Delbridge, Timothy A., 2013. "Threshold Effects in Transition to Organic Dairy Production," 2013 Annual Meeting, August 4-6, 2013, Washington, D.C. 150554, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    8. Law, Jonathan M., 2020. "Organic and Conventional Milk Production Practices and Costs between 2005 and 2016: Comparisons and Contrasts by Farm Size, Region and Pasture Use," 2020 Annual Meeting, July 26-28, Kansas City, Missouri 304615, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    9. Aimee N. Hafla & Jennifer W. MacAdam & Kathy J. Soder, 2013. "Sustainability of US Organic Beef and Dairy Production Systems: Soil, Plant and Cattle Interactions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 5(7), pages 1-26, July.
    10. Gillespie, Jeffrey & Nehring, Richard, 2013. "Comparing economic performance of organic and conventional U.S. beef farms using matching samples," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 57(2), pages 1-15.
    11. Carlson, Andrea & Greene, Catherine & Raszap Skorbiansky, Sharon & Hitaj, Claudia & Ha, Kim & Cavigelli, Michel & Ferrier, Peyton & McBride, William, 2023. "U.S. Organic Production, Markets, Consumers, and Policy, 2000-21," USDA Miscellaneous 333551, United States Department of Agriculture.
    12. Nguyen Khanh Doanh & Nguyen Thi Thu Thuong & Yoon Heo, 2018. "Impact of Conversion to Organic Tea Cultivation on Household Income in the Mountainous Areas of Northern Vietnam," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-21, November.
    13. Njuki, Eric, 2022. "Sources, Trends, and Drivers of U.S. Dairy Productivity and Efficiency," USDA Miscellaneous 323860, United States Department of Agriculture.
    14. Maysoon M. Mikha & Dwi P. Widiastuti & Tunsisa T. Hurisso & Joe E. Brummer & Jessica G. Davis, 2017. "Influence of Composted Dairy Manure and Perennial Forage on Soil Carbon and Nitrogen Fractions during Transition into Organic Management," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-20, April.
    15. Marasteanu, I. Julia & Jaenicke, Edward C., 2014. "Clusters of Organic Operations and their Impact on Regional Economic Growth in the United States," 2014 Annual Meeting, July 27-29, 2014, Minneapolis, Minnesota 170336, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Agricultural and Food Policy; Crop Production/Industries; Demand and Price Analysis; Production Economics;
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