The milk cow population has been trending upward since December 2024, largely due to dairy cow retention, writes Abbi Prins. Instead of cull cows showing up in cattle slaughter reports, these cows are still being milked in barns across the country and are making calves destined for beef feedlots.
Source: Hoard’s Dairyman, December 1, 2025. Link.
Beef-on-dairy revenues are keeping cows in barns.”