Highest Head Count Since 2023
- amy55735
- May 28
- 1 min read
The T.C. Jacoby Weekly Market Report Week Ending May 23, 2025
For several years the heifer shortage restrained growth in U.S. milk output. But the invisible hand has proved its might once again. Given enough time and economic incentive, industries can turn scarcity into abundance. Dairy producers have managed this feat by culling significantly fewer cows than they did in the past, reducing their need for replacement heifers.
For several years the heifer shortage restrained growth in U.S. milk output. But the invisible hand has proved its might once again. Given enough time and economic incentive, industries can turn scarcity into abundance. Dairy producers have managed this feat by culling significantly fewer cows than they did in the past, reducing their need for replacement heifers. In 2023, U.S. dairy producers culled about 35,000 fewer cows than their average in the five previous years. Last year, despite the ravages of the bird flu, they kept 385,000 cows in the barn that would have gone to a slaughterhouse in a typical year. And so far in 2025, they’ve sent about 190,000 fewer cows to beef packers than they normally would.
Dairy producers are holding onto more than enough cows to grow the dairy herd. In the latest Milk Production report, USDA revised its estimate of the March milk-cow herd upward by 16,000 head and reported an additional 5,000-head increase from March to April. That puts the April dairy herd at 9.425 million cows, up 89,000 head from a year ago and the highest head count since March 2023.
May 27, 2025
Comentários