Celebrate National Dairy Month With These Fun Facts

Since the 1930’s, June has been known as Dairy Month in the US. Rodem first started with a focus in the dairy industry and it is a major part of our business and area of expertise today. After graduating from Ohio State University, founder Bob Diener got his start as a plant foreman at Ideal Milk in Portsmouth, OH. Bob then started a sales career which eventually led to the purchase of Feldmann Dairy Plant. Not long after this, Rodem was officially founded.

Not only has the dairy industry had a huge impact on Rodem, but it is an important and interesting part of the US economy. Here are ten interesting facts and figures about the Dairy Industry as we salute our roots this June!

• There are approximately 49,000 dairy farms and nearly 500 milk processing plants in the United States.
• All 50 states and Puerto Rico are home to dairy farms
• 97% of US dairy farms are family owned farm businesses
• There are approximately 9.23 million dairy cows in the U.S., with the average dairy farm in the U.S. having 187 cows
• U.S. dairy farms are producing three times more milk today, as compared to 1960, with about half the number of dairy cows, reducing the total resources needed by the dairy industry
• The average dairy cow produces approximately 6.5 gallons of milk per day, or about 2,300 gallons of milk per year
• It generally takes less than 48 hours for milk to reach grocery shelves from the time it leaves the dairy farm
• The value of all milk products sold from U.S. dairy farms is nearly $37.2 billion, and the U.S dairy production and processing industry accounts for over 900,000 jobs in the U.S.
• 70% of the calcium needs of the U.S. population are supplied by milk and dairy products
• The top five dairy producing States in U.S. were are California, Wisconsin, New York, Idaho and Pennsylvania, with California producing nearly 40 billion pounds of milk per year, and Wisconsin producing over 25 billion pounds per year.

How are you celebrating Dairy Month this year? Let us know on Twitter and check out more about our roots in the dairy industry here!