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Study shows dairy costs remain high

A recent study shows Illinois dairy farms are continuing to have negative economic returns. 

Bradley Zwilling with the University of Illinois and the Farm Business Farm Management Association tells Brownfield there are some bright spots. “This is looking at 2024 but includes projections for ’25 and ’26, but we did see some higher milk prices and our feed costs are coming down, so that’s some optimistic things that are making things a lot better and also, the beef that we’re selling off of those dairy farms are up, so that helps.”

Zwilling says milk prices went up some in 2025 and feed costs went down. “From an economics standpoint, we’ve got lots of negative numbers, but when we look at the cash side, we’re still able to squeak out a profit margin when we looked at that, especially in 2024 and our projections for 2025.”

As for 2026, Zwilling says it’s still going to be a struggle for dairy producers. “They are still projecting lower milk prices yet, even into 2026, so that doesn’t bode well for those other costs that we have, however those costs look to stay about the same. We’re not seeing major increases.”

Zwilling says USDA data shows there will likely be more downward pressure on milk prices since the herd has grown by 200-thousand cows and another 100 thousand are expected this year.

AUDIO: Bradley Zwilling discusses his recent milk costs and projections study with Brownfield’s Larry Lee