Why Milk Matters
For Our Land
New England and New York dairy farms are the nucleus of the region’s agriculture economy, managing over 50 percent of the cropland in five of New England’s six states, 5,000 farms and 2.5 million acres of land in New York, and stewarding thousands of acres of woodlands, wetlands, and pasture. Dairy farmers preserve and protect our region’s iconic working landscape—its rolling hills, farmhouses, barns, and silos—for residents and tourists as well as agriculture. These farmers continue a tradition of environmental stewardship while implementing sustainable innovations that benefit the environment and the dairy herd. 