The majority of South Dakota dairies have been able to deliver milk to processors and have not been forced to dispose of milk. However, should emergency disposal of milk become necessary, below are some considerations to know, according to the South Dakota Department of Agriculture (SDDA).

  • Some dairies may be able to use milk as livestock feed and they should certainly do that to the extent they can.

  • Maintain accurate records of disposed milk.

    • Most dairies have no design storage for milk disposal in their manure management systems.  If a dairy is considering doing that, they need to reach out to the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources (SDDENR) to ensure their system has the capacity to take the milk and that doing so will not damage their system.

    • The dairies should also reach out to the county where they are located to make sure their conditional use permit allows milk to be disposed of in this way.  The county also needs to be aware of this as it has the potential to increase odors from the dairy, both from the manure management system and during land application.

      • For more information, contact Kent Woodmansey with DENR at Kent.Woodmansey@state.sd.us.