First, a brief summary of dairy industry evolution since the turn of the last century: 1. From hand milking to using robots. 2. From feeding skim milk to the hogs to a global multibillion-dollar dry milk protein industry. 3. From dumping whey in streams to a sophisticated highly technologically driven global whey protein industry. 4. From cows producing less than 3,500 pounds of milk per year to nearly 19,000 pounds. 5. From about 6,000 fluid milk plants four decades ago to about 600. 6. From plants processing 1 million pounds of milk per year to processing a billion pounds per year. 7. From a $3.14/cwt milk price support in 1949 when price supports started to a peak of$13.49/cwt in 1981. 8. From drinking 34 gallons of milk per person annually in 1909 to about 20 gallons. 9. From eating about 4 pounds of natural cheese per person annually to more than 30 pounds. 10. From eating less than a quart of ice cream and frozen desserts per person per year to about 22 quarts. 11. From home delivery to store bought and now to home again.
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