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MILK ENRICHES RENO-TAHOE
Dairy farming is an economic and gastronomic star.
WRITTEN BY SUE EDMONDSON
PHOTO BY JEFF ROSS
Nevada’s dairy industry may not be as large as neighboring California, but it puts out an astounding amount of milk. According to USDA reports, in 2013, its 29,000 cows produced 74,883,721 gallons of milk. These figures don’t even include Northern Nevada’s commercial goat-milk producers. Fagundes Dairy alone ships about 600,000 gallons of milk annually.
Economic facts abound. The bottom line is that the dairy business is booming. California leads the nation in milk production, and dairy products are its highest selling agricultural commodity. They rank third in Nevada, an impressive fact, considering the shrinking availability of agricultural land.
“In years past, there were dairies all over the state,” says Lynn Hettrick, deputy director of the Nevada Department of Agriculture. “When land close to cities became more valuable for residential use, dairies became clustered in agricultural areas, like those in Churchill County.”
There’s no shortage, though, of local interest in everything dairy. We have farmers turned cheese makers, cheese lovers turned cheese experts, global businesses such as Dairy Farmers of America and Pacific Cheese Company, ice cream makers both large scale and small — even one who literally pedals his goods.
This is why Nevada actively recruits dairy farmers. More milk is needed to meet production demands, particularly those at the Dairy Farmers of America powdered milk plant in Fallon, which has the capability of manufacturing 285,000 pounds of dry milk products a day. Finding those farmers is not an easy task.
“Dairy farming requires a special person,” Hettrick says. “It’s a lifestyle that takes total commitment. It doesn’t matter if it’s Christmas and the power goes out. You’d better get the generator running and milk those cows.”
Freelance writer Sue Edmondson has written for publications in Nevada and California.
