The U.S. could be facing a milk-cow shortage.
New data from CoBank show the number of cows able to produce milk has fallen to a 20-year low. Analysts predict that the trend will continue until a recovery period sometime in 2027, when more dairy facilities are expected to come online.
Record-high prices for beef calves, coupled with tight cattle supplies, have prompted many dairy producers to produce more calves for feedlots and fewer for milk barns.
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“I think there’s a number of attributes of the Southern Plains that have been very attractive. One is land availability, the ability to grow feed on that land”
In today’s Firm to Farm blog post, RFD-TV ag law expert Roger McEowen briefly examines several of the issues that farmers and ranchers face.