Investing in a thriving dairy sector for Maine

Maine’s dairy farms are a cornerstone of our agricultural sector and our rural communities, producing milk and dozens of dairy products that feed us, stewarding vast acreages of farmland, creating jobs and boosting economic opportunities throughout the supply chain. But Maine’s dairy farms have been decreasing over the last 30 years, from 602 dairy farms in 1994 to just 140 farms today. Federally-determined milk prices, high production costs, and relatively flat fluid milk sales have contributed to this decline, as have broader challenges that affect all types of farms across the state: high transportation costs, aging infrastructure, an aging farmer population, labor challenges, industry consolidation, and more. But the challenges Maine’s dairy sector faces are not insurmountable, if we work together to build the conditions they need to thrive.  

Brigeen Farms is among the Maine dairies that together steward approximately 700,000 acres of dairy-related land across the state, playing a huge role in Maine’s food system and rural economy. Producing 16.1 million pounds of milk in 2023 (plus their frozen custard business, Canty Cow Creamery), Brigeen Farms is the eighth-largest dairy farm in the state. In 2023-2024, farmers Betsy and Bill Bullard participated in MFT’s Farming for the Long Haul program to take a deep dive into the challenges that most impact their business and identify ways to grow the long-term sustainability of their 10th-generation farm.

“The opportunity to access targeted Technical Assistance funds for detailed business analyses has been extremely valuable as we chart the next steps for further modernization and improvement at Brigeen Farms,” said Betsy Bullard about her experience in Farming for the Long Haul. With the $65,000 Implementation Grant they were awarded from Maine Farmland Trust in 2024, they are investing in critical farm infrastructure that will allow them to increase their milk production to reach efficiencies of scale, reduce milk transportation and other operational costs, and set up the business for a successful transfer when they eventually retire. (In fact, last month Bill Bullard spoke on a farmer panel that MFT organized on Farm Succession Planning, sharing how he and Betsy were able to purchase the family farm and how they’re thinking ahead to ensure its continuity.)

More technical assistance, funding to support critical infrastructure investments in dairy farms’ resiliency, and farm succession planning resources are among the list of 11 recommendations generated by the Maine Dairy Task Force.

Last March, the Maine State Legislature voted to establish the Maine Dairy Task Force to research and develop recommendations on how to support the long-term sustainability and resiliency of Maine’s dairy sector. In January of this year the Dairy Task Force released their official report. In it they underlined the importance of Maine’s dairy farms, noting that “In 2022, Maine dairy cattle and milk production accounted for $146.8 million in direct sales and had a statewide economic impact of $230 million. Maine's dairy sector directly or indirectly supports 14,600 jobs and provides over $835 million in total wages. The sector's state tax contribution is $155 million.”

What did we learn from the Dairy Task Force Report?

Some takeaways from the report (you can find it here) included concrete recommendations to bolster the viability of the dairy sector and why working to do so in the first place would benefit Maine agriculture at large, our communities, and our economy. The most important conclusion was that Maine's  Dairy Tier Program works. Other recommendations included expanded processing capacity, access to increased technical service support, and farm transfer support in response to Maine’s aging farming population.

What is the Maine Dairy Tier Program & why is it so important?

Instability in the dairy industry is due to many complex factors, the greatest being that federal milk pricing is highly volatile and is not tied to the actual cost of producing milk. Maine's Dairy Tier Program (established in 2004), is recognized nationally as being one of the most innovative approaches for ensuring the future of a state's dairy sector. When funded and allowed to function as intended, this system ties supplemental milk payments to the short-run break-even cost of production rather than relying exclusively on the fluctuating federal milk pricing. This allows for predictability and stability in milk payments for Maine dairy farmers and empowers farms to be able to plan thoughtfully for their farm’s future. The Maine Dairy Task Force’s top recommendations are to fund the Tier Program at the current cost of production level so that the Tier program can function as intended, and establish an annual baseline funding allocation for the Tier Program to increase its predictability in the state budget.

How would expanded processing capacity advance the dairy sector?

While the two large-scale fluid bottling plants, several medium-scale regional processors, and small value-added on-farm processing facilities Maine has are vital to current production, they aren’t enough. These facilities are not able to keep up with processing the scale of milk

produced in the state or to provide the full range of dairy products desired by Maine consumers. This leads to outsourcing processing to other states, incurring huge costs for shipping and the processing itself. In addition to retaining current facilities and expanding on-farm dairy processing capacity, the Task Force also supports the development of a mid-sized Maine-based processing facility with the flexibility to process fluid milk and create different value-added processed dairy products (organic and non-organic) depending on market demand. Like the Dairy Tier Program, cutting costs and having reliable processing will help stabilize the Maine dairy sector.

What are the other recommendations from the Maine Dairy Task Force?

The task force calls for the establishment of a Maine Dairy Resource Hub, support for farmer learning networks, developing additional funding sources for dairy support programs, and increasing the technical service capacity within the state to serve dairy farmers (including infrastructure improvements and modernization and business/financial planning). As the average age of a dairy farmer in Maine is 54, farm transfer support is also key to help keep dairy farms in agriculture across generations; the task force recommended that new funding be earmarked for low-interest loans, match funds, and/or loan guarantees to support farm transfers and widen access to AMLF & DIF programs for new farm businesses. The report also points to the small number of grain suppliers and high cost of grain, and encourages additional sourcing or creative bulk buying/storage options to reduce those supply costs. The task force also recommended two tax credit programs for farm business infrastructure investments, and for a new Dairy Sector Economic Impact Study to more clearly identify the dairy sector’s full economic contributions to our state and its rural communities.

‍So - how can YOU support local dairy farms?

“Buy dairy products!” says Betsy Bullard of Brigeen Farms, “whether it’s fantastic chocolate milk from Oakhurst, just enjoying milk in your coffee, or any of the innumerable number of dairy products, that supports dairy farmers. The vast majority of dairy products that you find on store shelves in Maine are pretty local. If you look at a container of milk in a store, there will be a two digit number, a dash, and then another number stamped at the top: if it's 23 at the front, that means that it was processed in the state of Maine. Dairy stays pretty local, so your dollars are likely to stay pretty close to home as well."