Dairy has two things going for it that most of agriculture does not: strong demand for protein and a second revenue stream from beef-cross calves. What it lacks, Land O’Lakes’ Beth Ford said Tuesday, is easy access to labor, relief from rising costs and health coverage for the people who milk the cows.
Ford spoke at an on-the-record fireside chat in New York moderated by Sam Jacobs, editor-in-chief of Time. Her comments on dairy came in answers about the farm economy, trade and labor.
Protein Demand is Lifting Dairy, and Butter is Part of it
“Protein is a thing now, as we all know,” Ford said. “You’re certainly seeing a resurgence of cow’s milk and things like that.”
Demand for dairy powders has also grown, she said, and that has helped dairy producers sustain themselves over the last couple of years.
Ford tied part of the shift to consumers’ focus on protein, portions and fiber, which she sees most clearly in retail. She said she has not seen GLP-1 drugs change what farmers grow or earn. At Land O’Lakes, she said, “our butter business has been quite strong,” and cheese and butter were both highlighted in the company’s 2025 annual report. Her explanation: “These are the protein sources. They’re healthy. They’re kind of simple.”
She is also watching how consumers behave under price pressure. She tracks trade-down along the butter ladder, from butter to private label to spreads to leaving the category, including whether half-stick butter is outselling spreads. She also watches food service, including the back of the kitchen. U.S. cheese consumption still trails Europe’s, she said, and joked that “everybody needs to get busy.”
Beef-on-Dairy Gives Producers a Second P&L Lever
Ford said the US cattle herd is at 1950s levels and the beef market is short. Dairy farmers have responded.
“They’ve gone to dairy beef cross, where they’ll use genetics,” she said. “20% actually of the beef market is actually dairy cows that have been crossbred.”
That gives producers different opportunities to manage their P&L she said and called American farmers “amazing innovators” for adapting. Dairy is an example of this as the industry has sustained itself through a tight stretch by finding another outlet for what it produces.
Fewer Farms, Far More Milk
Consolidation is the trade-off. Ford said the U.S. now has 22,000 to 23,000 dairy farmers and that hog producers have consolidated to the same degree.
The productivity numbers are the counterweight.
“I think dairy cow numbers are up two to four percent, and production’s up 39%,” she said. “Genetics, feed rations.”
Later in the discussion she cited a 2% increase in animals against the same 39% rise in production. Dairy farmers are also investing in robotics from a labor perspective.
Feed, Fuel and Borrowing Costs Set the Margin
Ford described dairy producers as “balancing themselves, looking at feed costs” at a time when the broader farm economy is under strain. She said input costs are up $15 billion from February to September, citing a USDA statistic, and that diesel costs have doubled. Interest rates are rising, and farm bankruptcies are up 19% year to date versus last year. Those figures are for agriculture overall, not dairy alone.
Operating credit is the pressure valve. Ford said reserve loans at Land O’Lakes’ financing business have gone from about $100 million last year to over $1 billion this year, an early signal of how much farmers expect to borrow for next season. Land O’Lakes offers fixed rates because, she said, “it’s not as variable. That’s important.”
Labor is the Constraint a Loan Can’t Fix
Ford chairs the Business Roundtable’s immigration committee, and dairy came up repeatedly.
“Dairy farmers, 24/7, 365,” she said, and “they can’t access H-2A visas because that’s a seasonal visa.”
Jacobs noted that two-thirds of farm workers are non-citizen immigrants, and Ford added that probably about 45% of those are unauthorized. She said farms struggle to hire U.S. workers even as they raise wages.
Her proposed fixes are practical: “You could do visa reform, for instance, on dairy farmers to make that less seasonal,” more visa availability, and simpler paperwork. “Some certainty in terms of labor availability is equally important,” she said, comparing it to the value of a fixed interest rate. She noted that the Farm Workforce Modernization Act passed the House twice on a bipartisan basis but stalled in the Senate.
Health Coverage is Thinner on Dairy Farms
Ford said 11% of farmers lack health insurance. “It’s greater than that for dairy farmers, like forty-some percent,” she said, because many cannot afford it and farming is a risky occupation. Separately, she called for investment in rural hospitals and noted a shortage of mental health providers in rural communities.
Trade Steadies Demand, but Tracking is Opaque
Ford’s trade comments covered agriculture broadly, not dairy specifically. About 20% of ag production is exported, which “stabilizes the economics for the farmer,” she said, and farmers are watching trade lanes and export volumes. She credited the administration with an active trade agenda but said it is “pretty opaque” and called for cargo-level tracking against announced agreements.
