FRANKFORT, KY - From his Frankfort office on Monday Agriculture Commissioner James Comer proclaimed June to be Dairy Month in Kentucky.
 
Comer issued the proclamation in honor of one of the commonwealth's most valuable industries. According to the Southeast United Dairy Industry Association, Kentucky's dairy industry generated an estimated $760 million in economic activity last year alone.

The Kentucky office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that Kentucky dairy producers took in more than $232 million from milk sales in 2011. NASS reported that Kentucky's 850 dairies produced nearly 1.1 billion pounds of fluid milk in 2011, 27th in the nation.

Reports indicate that new dairies are moving into Kentucky. The Kentucky Department of Agriculture's dairy marketing specialist, Eunice Schlappi, works with dairy producers and Kentucky dairy organizations to open new markets for Kentucky dairy products. The Division of Show and Fair Promotion helps with dairy cattle shows throughout the state, including the Kentucky State Fair, the North American International Livestock Exposition, and the Kentucky National Dairy Shows and Sales, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in March. The state veterinarian's office works to keep diseases out of Kentucky's dairy cattle herds and eradicates outbreaks when they occur. Many other organizations provide valuable services to Kentucky's dairy industry.



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