California Dairy Industry

The State's #1 Agricultural Commodity

California's dairy industry leads the nation in production of fluid milk, butter, frozen dairy products and nonfat milk, and is second in production of cheese and yogurt.  The industry creates jobs for 122,000 Californians and $17.5 billion in annual economic activity, according to a recent study prepared by Applied Development Economics, sponsored by CARES. View the complete study in Adobe PDF format.

California dairies produce almost 4 billion gallons of milk 

(#1 in the nation)

California's dairy industry creates jobs for 122,000 people.

California is home to more than 2,195 dairy farms

California is home to more than 133 processing plants

Total Economic Contribution

$17.5 Billion Year