The Interactive Map Displays the Economic Impact of Dairy in Each Pennsylvania County
With statewide dairy production and associated businesses contributing more than $12 billion annually to Pennsylvania’s economy, dairy provides tremendous value to local communities across the Commonwealth. The Center for Dairy Excellence recently launched an online tool to help individuals calculate the value of dairy in all 67 counties in Pennsylvania.
“Dairy businesses create more than 52,000 jobs and spend about 85 percent of their income locally, so our communities are stronger because of the many contributions dairy farms provide,” said Jayne Sebright, Executive Director at the Center for Dairy Excellence. “Our new tool is an interactive way to visualize the true economic impact of dairy in Pennsylvania’s rural communities.”
In the form of an interactive map, the tool shares the number of farms, cows, jobs, herd size, and economic impact dairy provides for each county across Pennsylvania. Data is based on the 2017 National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Agricultural Census.
For example, the map highlights the following data:
- Berks County – 298 farms, 29,704 cows, 99.68 average herd size, 2,970.4 number of jobs and $712.90 million in economic impact
- Centre County – 160 farms, 10,561 cows, 66.01 average herd size, 1,056.1 jobs and $253.45 million in economic impact
- Cumberland County – 240 farms, 20,197 cows, 84.15 average herd size, 52,761.7 jobs and $484.73 in economic impact
- Lancaster County – 1,613 farms, 106,429 cows, 65.98 average herd size, 10,642.9 number of jobs and $2,554.30 million in economic impact
“Dairy farming is the backbone of our local communities, and as an industry, it’s our responsibility to share the value dairy brings to the state,” said Sebright. “We developed this tool to make it easier to share data as you converse with consumers and the community at large.”
Visit centerfordairyexcellence.org/valueofdairy to calculate the value of dairy in your community. Contact the Center for Dairy Excellence at 717-346-0849 for more resources and information about sharing the value of Pennsylvania dairy.