Chris Hurt Retention Quotations

Much like the beef herd, heifer retention for herd replacements was up 4 percent and will allow an increase in the number of milk cows by nearly 1 percent this year.

The current expansion is expected to extend until around 2010, with the largest beef production on this cycle coming in 2010 to 2012. This likely means several more years of favorable prices as cow slaughter remains low and heifer retention high.