Local Dairy Farming Industry Facing Some Difficulties After Pandemic

June is National Dairy Month and local dairy farmers say the state of the industry is difficult right now.

Sparkman Farms Co-Owner John Sparkman said that the pandemic has impacted dairy farming.

“Right now it’s not really good on the dairy farms,” Sparkman said. “The price has been going down some the last few months. We’re hoping that recovery from the pandemic and everything will get back to normal pretty soon.”

Sparkman said that while people were staying home more they were buying more milk, which was great business for dairy farmers. On the other hand, he said that many farms took losses when it came to cheese and butter because restaurants were closed. Coming out of the pandemic, Sparkman said the reverse has happened.

Sparkman Farms currently has about 500 cows in their keep. Sparkman said while this is a larger farm for the Upper Cumberland, compared to farms across the nation with thousands of cattle it is relatively small. Sparkman said that urbanization is a threat to farmers, as it prevents growth and expansion for farms.

“Our inability to get larger due to urbanization,” Sparkman said. “Land value is increasing here, it has really put a damper on the size that we can be. As far as us getting bigger and being even more efficient, it’s going to be even more limited for what we are able to do.”

Sparkman has been in the dairy farms business for 47 years, and said he has seen tremendous change in the industry. He said the biggest change has come from an increase in new technology and research. This new technology has allowed for better nutrition and use of genetics to benefit farms.

“Through genetic DNA testing we can pick out highly producing and animals that have the best health traits to be in the herd longer,” Sparkman said. “Bulls that have traits for longevity can increase production, so genetics has played a big role.”

As the state beverage of Tennessee, Sparkman said he hopes people come to understand the benefits milk has both physically and economically.