Dairy herd sizes are growing, with a steady increase in average cow herd size from 6,147 head in 2021 to 9,181 head in 2025. This indicates a sustained expansion trend, likely driven by long-term efficiency goals, economies of scale, and investments made over multiple years.

Key Trends

At the same time, herd turnover rates have trended downward, declining from 37.6% in 2021 to 32.8% in 2025. This reinforces the idea that producers are focusing more on maximizing the productive life of existing animals rather than rapidly replacing them.

With calves generating significant revenue shortly after birth, producers have a stronger incentive to keep cows in the herd for additional lactation cycles, capturing more value per animal and reducing the need for frequent herd replacement. Strong beef cattle markets have elevated the importance of “other income,” particularly beef cattle sales, as a meaningful contributor to total revenue.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.