WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Analysts agree that further reductions in feed prices paid by dairy and livestock producers can be expected throughout 2025 and into 2026. Among those to chime in was Purdue University’s Michael Langemeier, who based his feed price projections for the second half of the year on corn prices projected between $4.25 to $4.50 per bushel and soybean meal prices ranging from $275 to $325 per ton.

At the time of his projections – June 13 – the most recent USDA recent World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report projected that the corn price per bushel would average $4.20 for the marketing year that starts in September. 

“Current corn and soybean meal prices are below the long-run averages. Futures prices suggest that corn and soybean meal prices are likely to remain below their long-run averages well into next year,” said Langemeier, director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture and a professor of agricultural economics.

Comparing price trends, corn prices averaged $4.72 per bushel from 2007 to June 2025. Soybean meal price averaged $362 per ton from 2007 to June 2025, Langemeier reported.

Corn and soybean prices will be impacted by weather conditions around the world as well as other supply and demand factors, he added.

“Each $0.10 per bushel change in corn price, changes feed cost by $0.43 per cwt. Similarly, each $10 per ton change in soybean meal price, changes feed cost by $0.38 per cwt.,” Langemeier noted in an article, “Prospects for Swine Feed Costs in the Second Half of 2025,” published by Purdue.

The coupling of downward feed prices with higher prices for milk points to a profitable year for many U.S. dairy producers, according to the USDA’s Frm Income Forecast for 2025. According to the forecast, issued in February:

- Milk receipts are forecast to rise by $1.4 billion (2.7 percent) in 2025, reaching $52.1 billion from $50.8 billion in 2024.

- The all-milk price is projected at $23.05 per hundredweight, a $0.50 increase from previous forecasts.

- Total animal/animal product receipts are expected to increase by $3.8 billion (1.4 percent) to $275.4 billion.

USDA’s 2025 forecast also calls for:

- Total milk production: 227.2 billion pounds.

- Average number of dairy cows: 9.390 million head.

- Milk per cow: 24,200 pounds (a decrease of 85 pounds from previous estimates).

“The 2025 dairy outlook presents a unique opportunity for dairy farmers to strengthen their operations. With higher milk receipts projected alongside lower feed costs, the focus should shift from survival to strategic growth and innovation,” according to TheBullvine.com, an independent, online community for professionals in the dairy breeding industry. “Combining more substantial milk prices, lower input costs, and advancing technology suggests that 2025 could be pivotal for dairy operations willing to adapt and innovate. While challenges remain around labor and environmental compliance, the fundamental improvements in dairy economics provide a solid foundation for strategic investment and growth.”

USDA noted that a larger soybean crush during the 2024-2025 marketing year is contributing to lower meal prices. A 24 percent decline in soybean meal prices was forecast by USDA, resulting in a projected average full-year crop price of $310 per ton. Increased global competition for soybean meal exports was also expected to exert downward pressure on meal prices in the 2024-2025 marketing year, according to USDA.

Lee Mielke, author of the dairy market column “Mielke Market Weekly,” reported that dairy margins continued to improve over the first half of May 2025 on a combination of higher milk prices and lower feed costs. This was according to the latest Margin Watch from Chicago-based Commodity and Ingredient Hedging LLC, which stated: “Nearby Class III milk futures posted a dramatic rally to new life-of-contract highs, completely reversing the steep selloff through Q1 while deferred contracts posted more modest gains.”

The U.S. feed supply should be more than adequate in 2025 if the weather cooperates, according to Bree Baatz, Terrain grain and oilseed analyst. “Given the expected lower feed prices, dairy farm margins should continue to improve in 2025,” Baatz said in an article she published in the March 6, 2025, issue of Hoard’s Dairyman Intel. “Milk supply is beginning 2025 in a position of slow growth, continuing the pattern of the past couple of years and setting the stage for modest milk price strength. There is potential for volatility in milk prices, particularly with any disruptions to exports, but low feed costs will leave some breathing room in milk-feed margins. With expectations for the all-milk price to average above $22 per hundredweight for 2025, and feed costs holding, dairy farm profitability looks to improve upon the average income-over-feed-cost margin in 2024.”