With the U.S. dairy herd continuing to expand, it follows that more cows are available for normal herd turnover, resulting in higher culling totals than a year ago. June dairy cow slaughter increased from both the previous month and the same month a year ago, reflecting the larger overall herd. Even with more cows marketed for slaughter, the pace of culling remains generally in line with herd expansion.
Based on the latest USDA monthly Livestock Slaughter data released on July 23, the number of dairy cull cows marketed through U.S. slaughter plants in June 2026 was estimated at 208,100. While up 16,400 from May, it was also 19,300 more than June 2025.
June 2025 had 25 non-holiday weekdays and Saturdays while June 2026 had 26 days. Slaughter averaged 8,000 head per business day this year, up 400 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 96,300 head from the same period a year earlier.
The USDA estimated the June 2026 U.S. dairy herd at 9.677 million dairy cows, up 192,000 cows from June 2025. It was also up 19,000 from the May estimate and put the June culling rate at about 2.2% of the herd. Based on the monthly data, year-to-date (January-June) dairy cull cow slaughter now stands at about 1,338,200 head, up 62,800 from the same period a year ago.
Read: Dairy herd growth pushes June milk production higher
Heaviest dairy cow culling during June occurred in the Upper Midwest (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio and Wisconsin) at 57,200 head. That was followed in the Southwest (Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada) at 38,700 head.
Other monthly regional totals were estimated at 30,200 head in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington; 29,200 head in Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia; and 25,400 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.
