The United States Department of Agriculture reported that dairy farmers sent 251,000 dairy cows to slaughter in May, up 11,000 head over April and an astounding 31,000 head over May 2011.
The increases represent 4.6% increase over April, and a whopping 14% over year-earlier levels.
Year-to-date, nearly 1.3 million cows have been sent to slaughter in Federally inspected plants in 2012, up 55,000 head over last year (4.4%).
Despite the increased culling, USDA estimates that there are still 9,270,000 dairy cows on U.S. farms. That’s up 76,000 head from a year ago (0.8%).
The full livestock slaughter report can be read here.
