Got Milk? How about 215 Million Pounds a Month?
Published Mar 27, 2006
High Plains Dairy in Friona is one of a dozen in The High Ground that together produces 35 million pounds of milk per month.
No need to ask the question – Got Milk? – in The High Ground region.
The area boasts 60 dairies that produce about 215 million pounds of milk a month.
“By the end of [2006], it will be over 40 million pounds a month,” says Don Cumpton, executive director of the Hereford Economic Development Corp.
The region’s dairy industry has taken on steam since 2002, he says.
“It’s had a positive impact on our county from the jobs it’s created and the new ancillary businesses. And with the dairy services and milk transportation companies, it’s been, really, an economic boon for us,” Cumpton says.
The milk produced in the region supplies the southeastern United States and local needs for fresh milk and milk used for butter, cheese and ice cream plants.
“The climate here is perfect for dairying because there’s no humidity,” Cumpton says. “Humidity affects milk output, and we get better production because of the climate.”
Select Milk Producers Inc. gets about 80 pounds of milk per cow from more than 70 producers in the Texas Panhandle and New Mexico, says Richard Seguin, vice president of technical services for the company.
Select processes milk from producers on both sides of the border, “but West Texas is growing faster,” he says.
The milk in the region is pooled with other cooperatives, including Zia Milk Producers, Lone Star Milk Cooperative and Dairy Farmers of America, to fill consumers’ needs.
“The milk supplies about 99 percent of the demand in milk or cheese, both for Texas and New Mexico,” Seguin says.
Select Milk Producers was formed in 1994 by a group of large dairy producers to work on local needs since farms in the region have more than the national average of 200 cows per farm, he says. Dairy farms in the area have an average of about 2,500 cows.
“The average producer in the southwest has probably 10 times more cows than the national average,” Seguin says. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reports that the “national increase in milk production was 3.5 percent, but was double that in West Texas and New Mexico,” he adds.
“Not only are the producers producing more out of their farms, but we have a lot more dairies coming in,” Seguin says.
“Cities are growing and slowly pushing out these producers, so they’re looking for other spots to continue producing. In central Texas, it’s the same problem,” he adds. “These producers are moving north because they know the Panhandle communities are really open to them.”
The dairy industry is turning into one of the best assets of The High Ground region – and everyone agrees on that.
“We’ve been amazed at some of the opportunities and industries that have been made available by the dairy industry,” says Janet Claborn, director of economic development for the Muleshoe Economic Development Corp. “The people in the dairy industry have been a welcome asset to our area because they possess outstanding work ethics. They are very family-oriented – the kind of people you want to move into your area.”
Story by Cristal Cody
Photo by Antony Boshier
Current Weather Conditions In Stratford, TX (79084)
Cloudy, and 36 ° F. For more details?
Click here...
