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THE 2024 ZISK REPORT
Will your dairy be profitable in 2024?
ZISK has released a report projecting expected dairy farm profits 2024.
The Midwest will be the second most profitable overall, projecting $701 per cow, but as in previous years reports the smaller herds will make much less money. Wisconsin herds (average size 833 cows) are projecting $1,000 per cow profits while South Dakota, with almost twice the average herd size, expects $672 per cow.
The Southeast expects to be the most profitable region in the U.S. in 2024, with an average projected profit of $857 per cow. While smaller farms, those with fewer than 250 cows, expect to continue to incur losses, the entire region’s overall profit per cow expects to be similar to previous year, led by Florida and Georgia whose herds are increasingly dominated by farms with over 5,000 cows, expecting to have strong years. Many other southeastern states in contrast are projecting losses.
The least profitable region for producing milk in 2024 is expected to be the Northeast, although Rhode Island is projecting the highest profit per cow in the nation despite an average herd size of 35. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey and Kentucky expect some of the lowest average profits in the U.S. in 2024. As a region, the Northeast was also the least profitable this year.
The trends reported last year by Zisk remain and are reinforced for 2024. Farms are getting larger, and larger farms are more profitable.
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