Dairy Heifer Shortage Builds the Case for Older Cows

ZISK
1 hour ago
1 min read

It’s no secret that dairy heifers are in short supply, and their prices are high.

An early 2025 USDA-estimated inventory of just 3.914 million head of dairy heifers over 500 pounds marks the lowest population of dairy heifers in the U.S. since 1978. Meanwhile, the U.S. beef cattle herd is the smallest it has been in 64 years, ramping up incentives for dairies to produce more high-value beef-cross calves.

The financial upshot: today it is common for Holstein springers to fetch record-shattering values of $4,000 per head or more. That makes it challenging for dairies to grow or maintain herd size affordably. Or does it?

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