Most of us have heard about the drought in the western United States this winter. Water is scarce, meaning that animal feed is harder to find and it’s becoming more expensive to produce dairy. And yet dairies in Nevada are struggling to not only overcome this setback but thrive during it as well. They are facing increasing pressure to expand their herds and grow the burgeoning industry in the area, but is it even possible in this climate?
Does the drought threaten the dairy industry’s expansion here? You bet.
“We’ve got customers secured, and customers — they need it now,” Clark says. “They need it before we even start.”
Clark says they’ve started lining up contracts to bring in milk from outside this drought-stricken region, even though they’d rather not. It’s more expensive and the quality isn’t as good.
Photo by Kirk Siegler
Rebecca Haley-Park
Rebecca Haley-Park is culture's former editor and resident stinky cheese cheerleader. A native New Englander, she holds a BFA in creative writing from University of Maine at Farmington.
