IARN – Before the release of Wednesday’s semi-annual cattle inventory report, various trade estimates called for a reduction in overall herd size. The USDA’s report confirmed those estimates with a herd size of 87.2 million head of cattle as of January 1st, 2024. That is a 2% overall reduction in herd size from the 88.8 million head of cattle reported on January 1st 2023. It also makes for the smallest U.S. cattle herd inventory since 1951.
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