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U.S. dairy herd hovers near 30-year high

  • Writer: ZISK
    ZISK
  • 1 day ago
  • 1 min read

Farm milk prices dipped sharply in the second half of 2025 due to strong milk production. Class III prices dropped by $1.38 per cwt since August’s $17.24 payout for cheese and whey. Unfortunately, Class IV experienced even steeper losses, falling from $18.50 to $13.64 per cwt by December, said Corey Geiger, lead dairy economist for CoBank.


“That $4.85 reduction per cwt has put significant pressure on West Coast dairy farmers where larger volumes of butter and milk powders are produced at processing plants,” he explained. “That begs the question, ‘When might we see a rebound in milk prices?’”


Fran O'Leary

January 20, 2026

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