After a steady decline in cow slaughter, dairy producers are starting to see a shift in culling decisions. The high cost of replacement heifers has made it difficult to justify culling cows, but that trend is beginning to change. Recent numbers show more cows moving to slaughter again over last year’s numbers.
Based on the latest USDA monthly Livestock Slaughter data released on May 21, the number of dairy cull cows marketed through U.S. slaughter plants in April 2026 was estimated at 215,100. While down 24,100 from March, it was 7,900 more than April 2025.
April 2025 had 26 non-holiday weekdays and Saturdays while April 2026 also had 26 days. Slaughter averaged 8,300 head per business day this year, up 300 head from a year earlier.
Weekly slaughter toward the end of 2025 reversed a long-term trend where weekly dairy cow slaughter had trailed year-earlier levels with a total decline of nearly 556,100 head. However, in the weeks since September 2025, it has increased 80,400 head from the same period a year earlier.
The USDA estimated there were 9.645 million dairy cows in U.S. herds in April 2026, up 10,000 from the March estimate and putting the April culling rate at about 2.2% of the herd. Based on the monthly data, year-to-date (January-April) dairy cull cow slaughter now stands at about 938,400 head, up 48,500 from the same period a year ago.
Read: Milk production, cow numbers continue to increase in April USDA estimates
Heaviest dairy cow culling during April occurred in the Upper Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin) at 56,300 head. That was followed in the Southwest (Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada) at 39,400 head.
Other monthly regional totals were estimated at 31,800 head in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington; 31,100 head in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia; and 27,600 head in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.
Primary data for the USDA’s Livestock Slaughter report is obtained from reports from about 1,100 federally inspected plants and nearly 1,825 state-inspected or custom-exempt slaughter plants.
