Record high milk prices and slowly receding feed prices are offering strong incentives to milk every cow possible. The April culling report, released this afternoon by the United States Department of Agriculture, shows dairy farmers are doing just that.

In April, dairy farmers sent 38,000 fewer cows to slaughter through Federally inspected plants than they did a year ago. That’s a decline of 14%.

Compared to March 2014, farmers sent 16,000 fewer cows to market, or 6.5%. However, there was one fewer business day in March than in April this year. So on a daily basis, they sent about 11% fewer cows to market—11,714 cows per day in March compared to 10,455 cows in April.

Year-to-date, 117,000 fewer dairy cows have been sent to McDonalds and Burger King. That’s a decline of 10.6%.

By Jim Dickrell