The size of the average dairy herd is seeing consistent year-over-year growth, according to proprietary benchmarking reports from Farm Credit Services. Ag Country Farm Credit Services Agribusiness Vice President Kyle Froslie says cows are also staying in the herd longer. “People are growing their dairies and are looking more at maximizing the productive life of their cows,” said Froslie. “They might hang on to their dairy cows a little bit longer because they can get one more breeding into that animal, and even if the milk production drops off in that last lactation cycle, it still makes a lot of sense because of the beef income that’s coming from that calf.” More dairy replacement heifers are being sold for beef, and the cows in production are getting older. Despite that trend, milk production is rising, Frosley says, thanks to continued genetic improvement. “Dairy producers are not only getting more milk per animal, but also better components.” The Farm Credit Services database includes 144 dairy sites across multiple states.
