Dairy farmers sent 219,000 cull cows to Federally-inspected slaughter plants in June, 5,000 more than a year ago. The June culling was just a 1,000 head less than in May, according to the United States Department of Agriculture in a report released this morning.
Year-to-date, 1.458 million dairy cows have been sent to hamburger heaven, 88,000 more than a year ago. On a percentage basis, culling is up 6.4% through the first six months of 2011.
Nevertheless, dairy cow numbers continue to grow, according to USDA estimates released Tuesday. USDA estimates dairy cow numbers now total 9.21 million, up 88,000 from last June.
