U.S. dairy producers sent 215,000 cows to slaughter in Federally-inspected plants in April, 23,000 head fewer than were sent in March. April 2009 culling was even 4,000 head less than April 2008, USDA reported this morning.
Speculation is that culling slowed in anticipation of the Cooperatives Working Together program, which announced opening of bids for the 7th round in April. CWT officials have since announced that nearly 103,000 cows have been accepted into that 7th round, www.cwt.coop.
The only good news in today’s report is that 978,000 dairy cows have been slaughtered year-to-date. That’s 94,000 head more than the January through April period of 2008, or an increase of nearly 11%.
