2023 was a tough and “below-average” year for many dairy producers in the Northeast. While they remain cautious heading into 2024, new processing capacity in New York and other opportunities across the region bring excitement and optimism to the dairy community.

The words “financially stressed,” “weary” and “frustrated” paint a less than cheery picture of the current state of the dairy economy heading into 2024 for producers in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Roughly 40% of all U.S. dairy farms have non-family member employees, and about 70% of those workers are immigrant employees.

Nervous, guarded and cautiously optimistic is how several dairy producers across Washington, Oregon, Idaho and western Montana described their attitudes coming into 2023.

Intermingled with large population centers, dairy producers, processors and marketers in the Northeast and New England must stay in tune with local demands and global conditions. That results in a medley of opportunities and concerns.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Feb. 27 announced it would publish a final rule to amend how the adverse effect wage rates for the H-2A program are set to improve the rates’ consistency and accuracy based on the actual work performed by H-2A workers and to better prevent their employment negatively affecting the wages of similarly employed U.S. workers.