Self-Funded Dairy Buyout Begins Round 2

The Cooperatives Working Together (CWT) on Oct. 1 will start accepting bids for the second round of a voluntary dairy herd retirement program.  The goal is to retire 49,000 head, thereby reducing the country’s milk supply.  A reduction of this size would reduce milk output by 870 million pounds. 

The program is self-funded by the dairy industry.  The participants in Cooperatives Working Together represent 70 percent of the nation’s milk supply.

 The first round of the program resulted in the retirement of 299 herds representing almost 33,000 head.  Under the program, all cows are sent to slaughter in the United States. However, no effort is made to keep farmers out of future dairy production.

To participate, interested farmers from across the nation submit bids to be compensated for selling their herds. These bids stipulate how much each producer would accept to sell his/her entire milking herd. Under the oversight of independent auditors, bidders are selected and contacted by CWT’s field representatives who verify the conditions of the bid and assure that the animals are committed to slaughter. Producers maintain ownership of the animals throughout this process. In addition to the bid compensation for the herd retirement, producers keep the funds generated through slaughter sales.