A recent report shows U.S. dairy producers have excelled at producing butterfat and should consider shifting their focus to producing more protein instead. Economist Corey Geiger with CoBank tells Brownfield of the top three dairy exporters, the U.S. has grown its production of milk components significantly without a big jump in milk production. “The U.S. has grown butterfat percent 13% where the next biggest growth category has been closer to 2% for New Zealand and the E.U.

Key updates to the Livestock Risk Protection program, effective July 1, 2025, offer dairy producers a new hedge against volatile slaughter and beef-on-dairy calf prices. The U.S. dairy industry gains two crucial new risk management tools with significant updates to the USDA’s Livestock Risk Protection (LRP) program, effective for the 2026 crop year starting July 1, 2025. These modifications are specifically designed to address and mitigate the increasing price volatility asso

Five years ago, you could buy three to five springing Holstein heifers for the price of just one today. Top-quality springers in Turlock, Calif., were bringing $1,100 to $1,225 —compared to $3,500 to $4,250 in the past month. In Wisconsin, the best-quality springers were as low as $700/head in September 2021. Where the current market will go is anyone’s guess, as few — if anyone — predicted it could reach today’s levels. A newborn dairy heifer calf is now worth about the same