April is Oregon Milk Month, 2017 marks the 20th anniversary of the state beverage. April 5, 2017… Governor Kate Brown has proclaimed April to be Oregon Milk Month in a year that happens to be the 20th anniversary of milk being designated by lawmakers as the official state beverage. Economically, culturally, and environmentally, there is no shortage of reasons for Oregonians to celebrate one of the state’s most important agricultural sectors this month and beyond. “Milk ranks fourth of all Oregon agricultural commodities in terms of production value, pumping more than $470 million into our economy,” says Alexis Taylor, Director of the Oregon Department of Agriculture. “When you tie in the value-added products made from milk– cheese, yogurt, ice cream, and more– it provides an impact of more than a billion dollars. It’s an incredibly important Oregon industry.” Oregon is home to more 228 dairy farms, most of which are family operations, and about 126,000 cows produce nearly 2.6 billion pounds of milk every year.
