Production agriculturalists have long focused on supplying abundant low-cost food to their customers. In recent years, production increases from developing countries coupled with expansion of global trade have exhibited downward pressure on world commodity prices. As a result, consolidation is occurring across all aspects of the global food supply chain, particularly in the United States.

In the U.S. dairy production industry, this is being realized in the form of fewer, larger mega-dairies that are able to leverage their resources in order to attain significantly lower production costs. Construction of these dairies is mostly occurring in non-traditional, sparsely populated locations in the states of Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico, and Indiana. Despite having a higher cost structure, the Northeast dairy production industry has maintained its competitive advantage by enjoying close access to the some of the largest and most affluent population centers in the world. However, this advantage is tentative, at best. Ongoing developments in transportation, packaging, and product formulation threaten the long-term viability of Northeast dairy production. In order to thrive in the next few decades, Northeast dairy producers need address competitive concerns by attaining:

• A higher level of Farm Management
• Capital to support and facilitate opportunities to grow and strengthen the Northeast milk supply
• Vehicles for growth, transition and transfer of production units
• Tools to effectively manage and transfer price volatility risk

Synergy was founded on the belief that businesses need to focus on those functions in which they can excel, but by working together to share land, capital, and personnel resources, our businesses will be in a better position to thrive for future generations.

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