Sarina Sharp from Daily Dairy Report note that at the monthly auction in Pipestone, Minnesota, this week, the top 25 springers brought $3,150, on average. Meanwhile, cull rates continue to drop. In the week ending July 6, dairy cow slaughter plunged to 40,189 head, the lowest total in any week since Christmas 2009. The Independence Day holiday obviously contributed to the unusually depressed kill rate, but this is still an astoundingly low number. It is 20.6% lower than the same week in 2023, when the holiday was also a factor.
With cull rates in the basement, dairy cow head counts are likely to climb, and milk output could too. But milk yields will probably suffer as producers retain lower-production cows that they would have culled if there were more heifers available to replace them.