Biosecurity and Health Checklists
The 2026 Texas Dairy Industry Year in Review
A year in review is only as good as its sources. This page does not report the year's events from memory. It shows how a Texas dairy farmer can build a fair review from official data and their own records.
Why do a year in review at all?
A review turns a blur of seasons into lessons. You see what worked, what did not and what you would change. Dairies that do it regularly tend to catch patterns sooner.
The year named in the headline matters less than the habit. Whatever the year, the method is the same: gather the facts, check them against sources and write down what you learned. Any dates or figures should be confirmed at the official source, which we name below.
Keep your review honest. The point is to learn, not to look good. Mistakes written down are the most valuable lines in the document.
Start with your own numbers
Pull together your milk production, components, pay prices, feed costs, herd health events, labor changes and major purchases. Put them side by side by month. Patterns appear when you look at a full year.
Add notes on weather, heat, drought and disease events that affected the herd. A short notebook of events written during the year makes this far easier than trying to remember in December.
A one-page timeline of the year, with the best and worst weeks marked, often tells you more than a pile of reports.
- Milk and components by month
- Pay price and premiums
- Feed and input costs
- Herd health events and turnover
- Labor and equipment changes
- Weather and disease notes
Add the wider market and industry picture
Compare your year with what happened around you. Official price and market reports come from USDA Dairy Market News and USDA NASS. Economic analysis is available from the Economic Research Service, and regional views come from the Dallas Fed.
Do not trust a summary of the year that does not name its sources. Check each figure at the source and note the date you checked it. Industry groups such as the National Milk Producers Federation and IDFA publish their own views, which can differ because they represent different groups.
If you rely on a news summary of the year, compare it with an official report before you repeat a claim, and keep in mind that headlines simplify.
What about Texas conditions?
Texas has wide variety. A dairy near Stephenville faces different weather and feed conditions than one in the Panhandle. Look at drought and weather information from the U.S. Drought Monitor and the National Weather Service for the conditions that affected you.
For state-level information, check the Texas Department of Agriculture and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension pages. Local extension agents often know how the year looked in your county.
Heat in a Texas summer deserves its own note. Cooling, shade, feed intake and milk production all respond to it, and your own records show how your herd behaved.
Turn the review into a plan
Write down three things that went well, three that went badly and three changes for next year. Share the review with family, partners, your lender and key advisors. The budgeting ideas in this farm money guide help translate it into numbers, and the herd management guide suggests areas to examine.
Put the review in a folder with the previous years so you can see long trends. A simple one-page summary each year becomes a valuable history.
Questions to bring to your lender and advisors
A review gives you a good reason to talk to the people who help with your business. Bring a one-page summary and a few questions. Lenders appreciate farmers who understand their own numbers, and you get better advice when you are prepared.
Ask your nutritionist what the year taught them about your ration, ask your veterinarian about trends in herd health and ask your accountant about cash and taxes. Everyone sees a different slice of the same year.
Write down what each person says and compare notes. Disagreements are interesting, and they often point to something worth a closer look.
A lighter look back
farm.FM has a news and satire section and a dairy page for a more humorous look at the year, and a farm.FM story looking back at a dairy year makes good reading with a cup of coffee. Over at farm.FM, nobody pretends the year went exactly as planned.
It is not a source for figures, so use the official pages when you need a number.
Sources and further reading
- USDA Dairy Market News: weekly dairy price reports
- USDA NASS: agricultural statistics and surveys
- USDA Economic Research Service: farm economy data and analysis
- Dallas Fed: regional economy including Texas and Oklahoma
- U.S. Drought Monitor: weekly drought maps
- Texas A&M AgriLife Extension: Texas extension service
Ask locally: Your cooperative field representative, lender and county AgriLife Extension agent can help you compare your year with local conditions.