Making Dairies Work in Skagit Valley
Standing in Andrew Dykstra’s farmyard just north of Burlington, his 1937 barn looming, the sound of Interstate 5 is constant, and the Amtrak brings an occasional interruption. Dykstra Farms is particularly hemmed in by that infrastructure, as well as an industrial park just to the south. But the farm’s circumstances work as an apt metaphor for all Skagit dairies. As housing and business development press in and as economics and policies take their toll, Skagit dairy farmers draw on community support and innovate to continue producing healthy milk for all of us.
Dykstra’s dad started the farm in 1972. After spending a few years as a pipe welder in an oil refinery, Dykstra returned to the farm that he now operates with his son. There used to one crossing to get to some of his fields; now, there are four stop signs and a stoplight to haul a load of silage half a mile. And don’t forget the traffic. The time it takes and the cost required adds up day after day, year after year. It’s easy to feel squeezed.
The particular details change from farm to farm, but that feeling of being hemmed in with rising costs, regulations, and uncertain futures affects many Skagit dairy farmers. Trade policies, which sometimes create escalating trade wars, and fluctuating milk prices mean the dairy industry is volatile. Add to that environmental regulations, especially related to water and waste, and many dairy farms have relocated or just shut down.
“This used to be a really great place to dairy,” said Alan Mesman, a dairy farmer just east of La Conner. These days, it’s harder for those families still making it work.
The decline in dairy farming in Skagit County can be measured in stark numbers. According to statistics from Washington State University Skagit County Extension, 153 dairies operated here in 1978. At then end of last year, 16 remained, and some more have closed in 2023. Milk production in the late 1990s neared 400,000 pounds; last year, it did not meet half that quantity.
Economic consolidation that affects all segments of agriculture explains some of these numbers, but high costs for machinery, fertilizer, and more, as well as environmental regulations, have made eastern Washington and Oregon attractive places to relocate. Labor shortages also stress dairies’ capacities. But Skagit farmers keep at this work.
In a medium-sized room on Mesman Farm, two robots are built into a wall. Just outside, a cow walks up on one side of the wall. A robotic arm attaches itself and milks the cow. No person needs to be present. At a computer in an adjacent room, Mesman can call up data about each animal. How much milk she produces on average or an a given day, for instance, is available after just a few clicks. It’s quite the change from how his family got started, first in Oak Harbor in 1905 and then in La Conner in 1942.
The robots were the first ones north of Seattle. At the time, in 2013, they milked more than a hundred cows. “It was hard to get labor,” said Mesman, “hard to get somebody to show up on time. And, you know, the robots were just a way of taking the chore of milking and the hassle of hired help out of the equation.” Although the technology is expensive, it has penciled out over the decade it has been used.
Both Mesman and Dykstra run organic dairies. Mesman transitioned to organic in 2006; Dykstra even earlier, the first organic dairy in the I-5 corridor. Getting certified organic did not require many adjustments to their existing practices on the land. It was partly an economic opportunity.
“We thought there was a market for organic milk back then,” said Dykstra, “and it turned out there was.” He recalled, “What really made the organic market really jump back then was BST.” This growth hormone alarmed some consumers who turned toward organic milk instead, and “The organic market just exploded.” Meeting those consumers’ demands became a way to capitalize on the premium organic milk offers, which studies repeatedly demonstrate they are willing to pay, especially for milk and eggs.
Being organic is only one type of diversification dairy farmers try to ensure their farms’ viability. For some, family members work in town. Others lease some of their land to vegetable farmers. Mesman sells beef retail from the farm, too. Being creative and adaptable helps weather the years of low prices.
Starting last year, Mesman has provided roughly one ton of milk a day to Samish Bay Cheese in Bow. He downsized his milking herd from more than 100 to about 50 to match the demand. He’d had a relationship with the owners of Samish before entering into this agreement.
This local, personal connection is another premium. “You appreciate being organic and your products being local,” said Mesman. “Nowhere else in this area are you going to have have a milk plant 14 miles from your farm, and then nowhere else in this area are you going to go into the store and see . . . that two-thirds of the products on the shelf come from your farm.” Of course, a community the size of Skagit cannot support many arrangements like the one between Mesman Farm and Samish Bay Cheese.
Making an operation succeed, Dykstra thinks, starts with understanding a farmer’s strengths and their weaknesses. “Farmers need to know what they’re good at—if they’re good with cows, if they’re good with soils, if they’re good with equipment,” said Dykstra. And if they have shortcomings, they’ll need to find another way. “You cannot just hire everybody to do everything.”
Fortunately, Dykstra is pretty good with numbers, and with his son who has a mechanical engineering degree, they can fix and build many things on the farm. He has also taken advantage of expertise and investments from the local conservation district and the Natural Resources Conservation Service, which helped, for instance, put in an irrigation pivot at the farm. “There are groups that want to help,” said Dykstra. These are important resources to know about.
There is no single solution to reversing the trends of declining dairy farms, but it seems clear that adaptability is critical to hanging on, as is working to strengthen local connections. Families hang on because they have heritage and money invested in the farm. To ensure dairies remain part of the Skagit landscape, community, and economy requires support and appreciation of their precarious situation.
By Adam Sowards: info@skagitonians.org