By VDC staff

Lt. Gov. John Rodgers criticized Molly Gray on Tuesday over comments questioning the long-term viability of large dairy farms in Vermont, pointing to state agriculture data showing dairy remains a major part of Vermont’s economy even as the number of farms has fallen sharply.

Gray reportedly said, “Everything comes back to, it may not be, unfortunately, viable to have big dairy in Vermont anymore.” Rodgers responded that Vermont dairy farmers have repeatedly adapted to changes in technology, markets and production methods.

“Molly Gray has it backwards,” Rodgers said in a statement. “Vermont dairy isn’t dying because people stopped drinking milk or eating cheese. Change and adaptation have always been part of the history of dairy farming in Vermont.”

Rodgers, a Republican and longtime farmer from Glover, said state policy should focus on helping farms remain economically viable. He blamed regulations, mandates, paperwork and rising costs for adding to the pressures farmers face.

“Our farmers have adapted, invested, innovated and done what Montpelier has asked of them,” Rodgers said. “They don’t need politicians like Molly Gray writing their obituary. They need leaders willing to listen to them.”

Data cited by Rodgers comes from the 2025 “Vermont Dairy Delivers” report released by the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Food and Markets. The report estimated dairy’s annual economic impact at $5.4 billion, compared with $2.6 billion a decade earlier. It found that 73% of Vermont dairy farms had fewer than 200 cows, dairy and dairy crops occupied 52% of Vermont farmland, and Vermont produced about 63% of New England’s milk. It also reported that the number of Vermont dairy processors increased from 95 a decade earlier to 158 in 2023.

Those figures coexist with a long-term decline in the number of individual dairy farms. Vermont had about 480 dairy farms in 2024, a little more than half the number operating in 2013, while the average number of cows per farm increased substantially. Agriculture officials have described that change as part of a broader consolidation of the dairy industry.

The state report also found growing demand for dairy products nationally and increased Vermont processing and exports. Milk, cheese, yogurt and butter manufacturing accounted for about $3.6 billion of the industry’s estimated economic activity.

Rodgers said those numbers demonstrate that dairy remains an important economic asset despite the challenges facing individual farms.

“The answer isn’t to throw up our hands and declare dairy no longer viable,” Rodgers said. “The answer is to change what Montpelier is doing to our farmers.”