# Larger Dairy Herd Shapes U.S. Milk Price Outlook Into 2027

> USDA's August Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook kept its 2026 milk production forecast at 236.6 billion pounds but lowered the all-milk price forecast on weaker butter and nonfat dry milk prices. The June dairy herd rose to 9.677 million cows, 192,000 more than a year earlier, and USDA now projects 2027 all-milk at $19.80/cwt.

- Date: 2026-08-22 · published 2026-08-22T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/18030-larger-dairy-herd-shapes-u-s-milk-price-outlook-into-2027
- Commodities: [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

A growing herd and higher output add supply, keeping milk prices under pressure and capping dairy-driven demand for feed; the lower price outlook narrows producer margins.

## Read by commodity

- MILK: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| MILK | 2025-12-18 | [Dairy Market Outlook: Milk Supplies Steady, Prices Ease in 2026](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21495-dairy-market-outlook-milk-supplies-steady-prices-ease-in-2026.md) | -0.4% | -6.9% |
| MILK | 2020-03-10 | [2020 milk price takes a hit in latest USDA outlook report - Progressive Dairy \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/54149-2020-milk-price-takes-a-hit-in-latest-usda-outlook-report-progressive-dairy-ag.md) | +0.4% | -14.8% |
| MILK | 2020-12-11 | [USDA 2021 milk price outlook weakens - Progressive Dairy \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/49806-usda-2021-milk-price-outlook-weakens-progressive-dairy-ag-proud.md) | -1.0% | +4.8% |
| MILK | 2022-10-05 | [USDA Lowers Its 2022-2023 All-Milk Price Forecast - Dairy Herd](https://feedsoft.ai/events/5115-usda-lowers-its-2022-2023-all-milk-price-forecast-dairy-herd.md) | +9.9% | +10.0% |
| MILK | 2026-06-23 | [Higher Milk Production Forecasts Temper Dairy Price Outlook - Dairy Producer](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18807-higher-milk-production-forecasts-temper-dairy-price-outlook-dairy-producer.md) | -0.0% | -1.6% |

## Sources

- dairyproducer.com: https://dairyproducer.com/us-dairy-market-outlook-milk-prices-2027/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.