By Dr. Kenny Burdine
Cattle markets have been impressive across the board in 2025, and cull cow markets have been no exception. The monthly average price for 80-85% average dress boning cows in Kentucky set a record in June and may set a new record in July. June 2025 prices were 16% higher than June of 2024 and 62% higher than June of 2023. This is a trend across all regions of the US as demand remains strong and cull cow supplies remain tight. I want to briefly discuss some specific factors behind these prices levels.
The most obvious reason for the extremely high cull cow prices has been sharp reductions in slaughter levels. As I write this in late July, beef cow slaughter is down 17% year-to-date from 2024. If this trend continued through the end of 2025, it would represent a reduction in beef cow slaughter of more than 450,000 cows. The beef cow herd was culled hard from 2021 to 2023, so it is likely that a lot of poor performers had already exited the herd. And of course, the current calf market is encouraging producers to hold on to cows a bit longer than usual. It is also worth pointing out that dairy cow slaughter is down 7% for the year, which is also contributing to the tight supplies.
Source : osu.edu