IARN — The U.S. Cattle Inventory Report on Friday shows a one percent decrease year over year.
USDA livestock analyst Shayle Shagam says data from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reveals there were 101 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of July 1st.
“That was about 1 percent below a year ago,” said Shagam. “The number of beef cows was 31.4 million head, which was about 2 percent below a year ago. Producers also indicated that they intended to retain about 4.3 million head of heifers for beef cow replacement, which was about 2 percent below a year ago. That left the number of other heifers that are not going to be retained for breeding at 7.6 million head, 3 percent below a year ago.”
Shagam takes a look at some of the other key numbers from Friday’s report.
“The number of steers 500 pounds and over was 14.5 million head, about 1 percent below a year ago,” said Shagam. “The number of bulls was 2.1 million head, which was about the same as a year ago. The number of calves under 500 pounds was 27.4 million head, about 1 percent below a year ago. We also got an indication for the first time of the 2021 calf crop, which was 35.1 million head, which was freshly below 35.135 million head in 2020.”
Of the 101 million head inventory, all cows and heifers that have calved totaled 40.9 million. The number of milk cows in the U.S. increased to 9.5 million head. All cattle on feed were at 13.4 million head, down 1 percent from 2020.
To obtain an accurate measurement of the current state of the U.S. cattle industry, NASS surveyed nearly 16,000 operators across the nation during the first half of July. NASS asked these producers to report their cattle inventories as of July 1, 2021, and calf crop for the entire year of 2021 by internet, mail, or telephone.
The July Cattle Inventory Report can be viewed here.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network
Photo by Anna Hastert
