Dairy Report: Labor Shortages Continue, China Demands More Dairy
Dairy Report 060821
Labor shortages continue across the nation, including the dairy industry. There are fewer job seekers than there are jobs. One dairy analyst saying continued fears about COVID-19 exposure, lack of childcare, several rounds of government checks and unusually high unemployment benefits continue to keep people out of the workplace.
U.S. farms and livestock operations employed 11% fewer people during one-week periods this past January and April compared to last year. That's according to USDA's annual Farm Labor report. To try and attract workers wages and benefits are increasing. Gross wages in April climbed 7% from the prior year for farm workers and 5% for those who work with livestock, including dairy cows.
China Wants More Dairy
Dairy is becoming very popular in China, but keeping up with demand is an issue. Reuters reporting China is the third-largest milk producer in the world. Last year, dairy farms in the country processed 34-million tons of it, but that amount was only able to meet about 70% of domestic needs. And producing it in the country is costly due to feed costs and a short supply of land and water.
To try and address the issue, the country is announcing over 200-new Chinese dairy farm projects, with plans for some 2.5 million cows, which is roughly half of China's current milking herd, to be added over the next few years.
