Dairy Cattle and Milk Production
Description
The Dairy Cattle and Milk Production industry encompasses establishments focused on the breeding, feeding, and milking of dairy herds to generate liquid milk for further processing or direct sale. Typical business activities include managing pasture-based or confined feeding operations, ensuring animal health through veterinary care and nutrition plans, maintaining strict hygiene standards during milk collection, and coordinating logistics for refrigerated transport to processing plants. Operators range from small family farms with single herds to large commercial agricultural enterprises employing hundreds of workers across multiple facilities. These businesses often engage in supplemental activities such as producing milk-based byproducts, managing feedlots for beef cows, or offering direct-to-consumer services through roadside stands and farmers markets. The sector plays a vital role in the domestic food supply chain by meeting the demand for fresh fluid milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter. Production scales vary significantly, with smallholder operations specializing in niche market segments like organic or artisanal dairy alongside massive industrial farms optimized for high-volume output. Economic activity extends beyond simple animal husbandry to include comprehensive land management, energy generation, and waste processing. The industry continues to evolve through technological advancements in automated milking systems and data-driven herd management, ensuring sustainability while maximizing productivity.
Hierarchy
| Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting 2-digit sector | The Sector as a Whole The Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting sector comprises establishments primarily engaged in growing crops, raising animals, harvesting timber, and harvesting fish and other animals from a farm, ranch, or their natural habitats. The establishments in this sector are often described as farms, ranches, dairies, greenhouses, nurseries, orchards, or hatcheries. A farm may consist of a single tract of land or a number of separate tracts which may be held under different tenures. For example, one tract may be owned by the farm operator and another rented. It may be operated by the operator alone or with the assistance of members of the household or hired employees, or it may be operated by a partnership, corporation, or other type of organization. When a landowner has one or more tenants, renters, croppers, or managers, the land operated by each is considered a farm. The sector distinguishes two basic activities: agricultural production and agricultural support activities. Agricultural production includes establishments performing the complete farm or ranch operation, such as farm owner-operators and tenant farm operators. Agricultural support activities include establishments that perform one or more activities associated with farm operation, such as soil preparation, planting, harvesting, and management, on a contract or fee basis. Excluded from the Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting sector are establishments primarily engaged in agricultural research (e.g., experimental farms) and government establishments primarily engaged in administering programs for regulating and conserving land, mineral, wildlife, and forest use. These establishments are classified in Industry 54171, Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences; and Industry 92412, Administration of Conservation Programs, respectively. |
| 112 | Animal Production and Aquaculture 3-digit subsector | Industries in the Animal Production and Aquaculture subsector raise or fatten animals for the sale of animals or animal products and/or raise aquatic plants and animals in controlled or selected aquatic environments for the sale of aquatic plants, animals, or their products. The subsector includes establishments, such as ranches, farms, and feedlots, primarily engaged in keeping, grazing, breeding, or feeding animals. These animals are kept for the products they produce or for eventual sale. The animals are generally raised in various environments, from total confinement or captivity to feeding on an open range pasture. The industries in this subsector are grouped by important factors, such as suitable grazing or pasture land, specialized buildings, type of equipment, and the amount and types of labor required. Establishments are classified in the Animal Production and Aquaculture subsector when animal production (i.e., value of animals for market) accounts for one-half or more of the establishment's total agricultural production. Establishments with one-half or more animal production with no one animal product or family of animal products of an industry accounting for one-half of the establishment's agricultural production are treated as combination animal farming classified in Industry 11299, All Other Animal Production. |
| 1121 | Cattle Ranching and Farming 4-digit industry group | This industry group comprises establishments primarily engaged in raising cattle, milking dairy cattle, or feeding cattle for fattening. |
| 11212 | Dairy Cattle and Milk Production 5-digit NAICS industry | See industry description for 112120. |
| 112120 | Dairy Cattle and Milk Production 6-digit U.S. detail | The Dairy Cattle and Milk Production industry encompasses establishments focused on the breeding, feeding, and milking of dairy herds to generate liquid milk for further processing or direct sale. Typical business activities include managing pasture-based or confined feeding operations, ensuring animal health through veterinary care and nutrition plans, maintaining strict hygiene standards during milk collection, and coordinating logistics for refrigerated transport to processing plants. Operators range from small family farms with single herds to large commercial agricultural enterprises employing hundreds of workers across multiple facilities. These businesses often engage in supplemental activities such as producing milk-based byproducts, managing feedlots for beef cows, or offering direct-to-consumer services through roadside stands and farmers markets. The sector plays a vital role in the domestic food supply chain by meeting the demand for fresh fluid milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter. Production scales vary significantly, with smallholder operations specializing in niche market segments like organic or artisanal dairy alongside massive industrial farms optimized for high-volume output. Economic activity extends beyond simple animal husbandry to include comprehensive land management, energy generation, and waste processing. The industry continues to evolve through technological advancements in automated milking systems and data-driven herd management, ensuring sustainability while maximizing productivity. |
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Classification References
- 01Raising dairy herd replacements--are classified in U.S. Industry 112111, Beef Cattle Ranching and Farming; and
- 02Milking goats--are classified in Industry 112420, Goat Farming.
Index Items
Dairy cattle farming
Milk production, dairy cattle
Milking dairy cattle
How Item Can Help
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External Resources
Census.gov NAICS Detail
Official US Census Bureau definition and scope for NAICS 112120.
National Dairy Council
The leading trade association representing the North American dairy industry providing resources, news, and advocacy.
United States Department of Agriculture - Dairy Division
Official government page offering market data, research, and guidance on cattle and milk production in the United States.
American Dairyman
Industry-leading magazine and online directory providing news, technology updates, and profiles for dairy farmers and producers.
