Dairy-cow slaughter remains high

Despite higher milk prices, dairy farmers are still in tough financial straits due to high feed costs.

So, it may not come as any surprise that dairymen are sending a high number of cows to market. According to the USDA’s “Livestock Slaughter” report on Friday, 264,000 dairy cows were slaughtered in January. That is up 32,000 from the same month a year earlier.

Both December (at 265,000 head slaughtered) and January had large slaughter numbers compared to the other months in 2010. Those other months — from January through November —averaged 231,000.

Source: “Livestock Slaughter” report, USDA, Feb. 25

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