A dairy market analyst says she expects the dairy herd to remain stable this year.
Sarina Sharp with the Daily Dairy Report tells Brownfield most major expansions that coincided with processing plant growth have been completed.
“And, the low milk prices that we saw in December and January, I think make producers think twice a little bit,” she says. “Just the steep, sudden nature of this rally is also something that maybe doesn’t give producers the kind of multi-year, long-term confidence that they like to see before they put the money down for a big expansion.”
Sharp says continued high beef prices could encourage some herd thinning.
“I think there’s some pent up, ‘Hey, I’ve been holding on to this cow for a while, she had a valuable calf, now I might have to look at sending her to a beef packer,’” she explains. “We’ve got low heifer numbers, so I think we’re going to see roughly steady cow numbers.”
Dairy cull cow slaughter numbers were the lowest in nearly 20 years during 2025 and hit historic lows during many months of 2024.U.S. dairy herd growth likely to be flat.
