The Vermont Agency of Agriculture says the state lost an average of 48 dairy farms last year, dropping the total number of dairies to about 677.
Diane Bothfeld, the agency's director of administrative services, told a gathering of dairy farmers at an annual meeting at the Vermont Farm Show, that the greatest attrition was in smaller farms with 200 or fewer cows.
Dairy farmers have struggled with prolonged low milk prices, President Donald Trump's international trade wars, and other challenges in recent years.
Bothfeld said last year milk prices rose by about $2 compared to 2018.
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