Meanwhile, dairy cow numbers at the start of 2022 were down 67,000 head compared to the previous year, with 3.1 million dairy cows going to slaughter in 2021, according to USDA data. Springer prices in Wisconsin still stand at approximately half the values posted in the rest of the country, even though the Wisconsin dairy herd grew by 16,000 head in 2021. Pennsylvania, on the other hand, lost 8,000 head of dairy cows in the past year, while continuing to post some of the healthiest springer values in the country.