Wash. dairy farms growing, thanks to exports

January 20, 2013 @ 11:48 am

KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) - The value of Washington's dairy exports has soared.

The Tri-City Herald reports ( http://is.gd/iU7ITi) that according to the state Department of Agriculture, the state exported more than $461 million worth of dairy products in 2011. That's a 35 percent increase in three years.

Washington is the nation's second largest exporter of dairy products, after California. Darigold, which is owned by the Northwest Dairy Association, a co-op representing about 85 percent of the dairy farmers in Washington, says it has been expanding exports consistently.

Dermot Carey, a senior vice president at Darigold, says it's exporting more to Asia as economic growth fuels demand for dairy products in countries that don't have the infrastructure or climate to increase their own milk production.

The Yakima Valley is one of the largest dairy-producing areas in the nation. Benton, Franklin, Klickitat and Yakima counties have 91 dairies and more than 110,000 cows.

In 2011, the state's milk production was valued at $1.3 billion, up 34 percent from 2010.

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Information from: Tri-City Herald, http://www.tri-cityherald.com


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (4)


  • Add A Comment

  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    Will the commies protest a "milk" train?
    January 20, 2013 12:45 pm
    or a milk port?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ted Bundi wrote...
    Wow!
    January 20, 2013 3:08 pm
    After years of seeing the farms close down. So, the growth is in large manufactures for cow milk, but a death march for the small cow farmers?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Forrest wrote...
    It's tough to be a small operation in the dairy business.
    January 20, 2013 7:45 pm
    Cows don't take any days off. Not even Christmas.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • HPD 5-0 wrote...
    That why farmers are always conservatives.
    January 21, 2013 7:55 am
    Liberals are too lazy.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }