2025 PA Dairy Producer Survey Results Now Available

More Than 770 Pennsylvania Dairy Producers Responded to the Survey

The results of the 2025 Pennsylvania Dairy Producer Survey are now available. The survey was conducted by the Center for Dairy Excellence and the Penn State Extension Dairy Team in early 2025 to evaluate current demographics and trends and to identify needs within the dairy sector. The survey was distributed by mail and online to Pennsylvania’s dairy farm community. The response rate represents between 12 – 15 percent of the total dairy farm population in Pennsylvania. Surveys were completed by 777 respondents, with 603 of them identifying as active dairy producers in 49 counties with an average herd size of 152 cows.

“There are 4,850 dairy farmers across Pennsylvania who work hard 365 days a year to bring fresh, wholesome dairy products to our communities. With a positive response rate, these survey findings show how Pennsylvania dairy producers have been adapting, evolving and managing their business over the past five years,” said Valerie Mason-Faith, Risk Education Manager at the Center for Dairy Excellence. “The full report also includes additional trends, data and findings that give us a glimpse at the future of Pennsylvania dairy.”

Customized insights are available for the following groups:

• Dairy producers. When asked to rate factors that could influence performance on their dairy operation, respondents viewed the following factors as most important: maximizing homegrown feed production, increasing milk components per cow, and improving udder health.
• Service providers. Over 80 percent of respondents indicated that veterinarians and nutritionists are among the most trusted advisors for farm management and related advice.
• Policy leaders. More the 27 percent of those surveyed were planning to transition in the next three to five years, while nearly 18 percent were looking to expand and 23 percent wanted to modernize. Diversification did not rank as high among respondents.
• Processors and cooperatives. A total of 90 percent of the 603 active dairy producers responding to the survey acknowledged they were participating in an animal welfare program like the National FARM Program. This is up from the 80 percent who acknowledged they were enrolled in an animal welfare program in 2020. This shows more awareness about the FARM Program.
• Lenders and financial consultants. More than half of the respondents reported calculating their production costs. As a comparison to this dataset, only 29 percent of respondents in 2020 calculated their cost of production, which indicates that more producers understand their cost of production now than they did in 2020 when the last study was conducted.

To view additional customized insights and the full report with the survey findings, visit www.centerfordairyexcellence.org/survey-results. If you would like a printed copy of the survey results, email Valerie Mason-Faith at vmason@centerfordairyexcellence.org or call (717) 550-8720.