The United States Department of Agriculture reported this week that dairy cow slaughter was up 16,000 head over December

The United States Department of Agriculture reported this week that dairy cow slaughter was up 16,000 head over December, a jump of 6.3%.And culling through federally inspected slaughter plants was also up 3,500 head over January, 2016. However, January 2017 had one more business day than a year ago. So on a daily basis, January 2017 over a year ago slaughter actually declined about 465 head per day, or about 3.5%.Total cattle slaughter was up 9.2% over a year ago, and on a daily basis, up 4.3%.