USA: Supply of replacement heifers continues to tighten

To continue reading the article, log in with your account or register on MilkPoint. Get access to exclusive content! The recent surge in milk futures has made traders more market-friendly in the US. The price increases were short-lived, maintaining the general bearish market attitude. That appears to have changed, but not without some caution. Milk production was below the previous year during the second half of the year, but ended the year at almost the same level as 2022. Concerns about future milk supply may be increasing as farms continue to go out of business and the supply of milk replacement heifers has decreased significantly. However, it appears that cows are moving from farm to farm instead of going to slaughter. Dairy cattle slaughter in December totaled 224,700 heads in the month. This number represents a drop of 5,000 head compared to November and 41,600 head compared to December 2022. This is the lowest ...