Higher milk and beef prices are two bright spots that have contributed to healthier financial margins across much of the Pacific Northwest.

Entering 2025, the Texas dairy industry is healing from last year’s drought conditions and bird flu outbreak. However, Darren Turley, executive director at the Texas Association of Dairymen, says dairy producers are expecting better conditions and pricing moving forward.

Despite political uncertainty, dairy producers across the Midwest are feeling positive and optimistic as we begin 2025, largely due to higher milk prices, improved profitability and a strong beef market.

Talk of growth, expansion and new opportunities have historically been quieter in the Southeast than in other regions, but Travis Senn, assistant director of milk marketing and analytics at Southeast Milk Inc. (SMI), says dairy farmers in this region are entering 2025 with a “level of confidence they haven’t had in years.”

On-farm financial margins have improved over the last year, and many organic dairy producers are feeling positive and optimistic thanks to lower inflationary pressure, higher mailbox prices and rising consumer demand.