Since its inception, American dairy farming has been continually evolving, from the beginnings when cows were milked by hand and milk was transported in buckets to to today where machines and mechanization have taken over. Since 1997, the total number of farms in America has declined, including traditional family farms. In “Restructuring America's Dairy Farms” by John A. Cross, he states that traditional dairy farms have between 20 and 49 cows, a significant decline of 33.7%, although this number has decreased, small farms Family farms still hold 28.9% of the country's dairy cows. On the other hand, large-scale operations that have 500 or more dairy cows account for 41% of the country's dairy cows. ] With America's thirst for milk steadily increasing as the population grows, farms are forced to continue to evolve and expand or sell. According to the USDA, between the years 2000 and 2006, large-scale agricultural operations increased by 104%. These large-scale farms are more specialized than ever. On a traditional dairy farm, cows spend most of their time in their assigned stall. This is where the farmer takes care of the cows and all the production takes place. The farmer is also the one who takes care of all the daily activities and housework on the farm, also taking care of management tasks. In addition to this, the farmer must find time to cut and process feed for his cows. Large-scale agricultural businesses or industrial ones are completely different. A large-scale agricultural business is run like a business or factory, with most efforts going into a separation between the workers and the management of the farm. There are managers who supervise the farm's operations and delegate jobs to workers. The workers unlike a traditional farm where they are fam...... middle of paper ......h are not up to the specifications set by the factories and cheese producers. On most small, traditional farms, milk is stored in a system that keeps it fresh. The Amish do not have this type of system on their family farms. The Amish have now adapted, banded together and have their own factories as non-Amish factories do not accept their milk because it is not up to specification. This is where the future of agriculture is headed as the small dairy farm begins to grow. they leave and industrial or large-scale farming begins to take over because it adapts better than small farmers. As demand for milk increases, it will be increasingly difficult for small, traditional farms to compete with outdated, inefficient farming practices. This is where adaptation starts to come in because farmers will have to expand and adapt or sell out to large-scale farmers