ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. (AP) — The outlook for Vermont’s dairy industry is optimistic with relatively strong milk prices, increasing demand for U.S. dairy products as well as growth in the number of dairy processors and milk produced in Vermont, despite a drop in the number of dairy farms, officials say.

The average milk price paid to farmers rose to $19.60 per 100 pounds of milk last year, up from $17.98 in 2012 and a low of $12.16 in 2009, Diane Bothfeld, deputy secretary at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, told an annual meeting of dairy farmers this past week.