Otter Tail County dairy farmers rely on calf price surge for relief

Andrew Goldberg says the jump in calf prices has become a real lifeline at Goldberg Dairy Farm near Deer Creek, one of the few market changes putting money back into Otter Tail County dairy operations as milk checks remain volatile and feed costs keep pressure on margins.

That matters in a county where dairy is still a major rural business. Otter Tail County had 82 dairy farms in a December 2025 tally, placing it among Minnesota’s top five dairy counties. Across the state, the dairy farm count has fallen from almost 8,000 about 20 years ago to about 1,650 permitted dairy farms by late 2025, even as the herd has stayed relatively steady. Minnesota had 1,672 total dairy permits as of May 1, showing how often the industry is changing through quits, dried-off farms, new permits and transitions.

For farms that are still open, the survival math is increasingly tight. Calf values can help offset weak points in the balance sheet, but they do not erase the broader squeeze from the gap between milk prices and average feed costs. That gap is exactly what the federal Dairy Margin Coverage program is designed to address, paying when margins fall below the coverage level a producer chooses. Minnesota Milk Producers Association said the program is one of the main tools farmers have for managing volatility.

The state and federal support window was active earlier this year. Minnesota Department of Agriculture said eligible producers enrolled in Dairy Margin Coverage could apply for DAIRI, a state-funded supplement expected to distribute up to $3 million, with applications accepted through March 19. USDA said Minnesota dairy producers could enroll in 2026 Dairy Margin Coverage from January 12 through February 26. Minnesota Milk said DMC premiums ranged from $0.00 at $4 coverage to $0.150 per hundredweight at $9.50 coverage for the first 6 million pounds of milk, and the six-year coverage option carried a 25 percent discount.

Minnesota Milk also said the legislature updated DAIRI in 2026 to expand access, after about 30 Minnesota dairy farms that started after 2022 or were not fully operating in 2022 had been left out of the original eligibility rules. That fix matters for newer or expanding farms trying to avoid being shut out of relief programs just as they face the same price swings and feed bills as long-established operations.

For Otter Tail County producers, the calf-price surge is welcome but temporary. The bigger question is whether that extra revenue, paired with DAIRI and Dairy Margin Coverage, can keep family dairies like Goldberg Dairy Farm in business long enough for milk margins to improve.