NORWICH – With a growing demand for milk in recent years, Chenango County is taking the lead in developing a strategic plan to keep New York’s dairy industry in tune with demand. Local leaders in the ag industry are making strong headway in developing a plan and hopes are to submit it to state legislators by Thanksgiving.

Milk production in the county has dropped 20-30 percent between 2000 and 2010, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service – this despite the increased production of dairy products in recent years, led locally by a booming yogurt market.

Chenango County Cooperative Extension Director Ken Smith is working closely with other constituents from New York’s Farm Bureau and other ag institutions to advocate a dairy strategic plan to be adopted by New York Sate to keep the dairy industry out of the red and stabilize farmers as they face a pending milk shortage. Chenango is the only New York county with a plan started, and as a result, it’s blazing the trail for the dairy industry statewide.