Farm Business Management instructor Nate Converse says the quarterly financial reports are coming in slightly better than the forecasts made earlier this year. “Milk prices are a little lower than what we would have projected sitting at the table in March of last year, but calf and cull cow prices made up for that, and feed prices have been relatively favorable.” On the negative side, Class III futures are lower than hoped for in this fourth quarter and the early part of 2026. Fortunately, high beef cattle prices have given dairy farmers a significant source of revenue. “Take the cull revenue and the beef calf revenue and divide it out by the hundredweights of milk produced and it’s been sitting pretty consistently at the $4 to $5 range in per hundredweight of milk just in income coming from bull calves and cull cows so even with a little lower milk price, that’s been bolstering farm income for the dairy sector.” Converse, who is based at Little Falls, Minnesota, said dairy farm expansion has been hampered by the availability and cost of replacement dairy heifers and high construction costs.
