By Derrell S. Peel
The July Cattle report showed that the U.S. beef cow herd continued to decline through the first half of the year. The July 1 beef cow inventory was 29.4 million head, down 2.6 percent year over year. This is the fifth year of smaller beef cow inventories since the 2018 cyclical peak, with the beef cow herd down 3.0 million head, a five-year decrease of 9.3 percent. The smaller beef cow herd is part of a general decrease in all cattle numbers in the U.S.
The total inventory of all cattle and calves in this report was 95.9 million head, down 2.7 percent year over year. The total inventory of heifers was down 3.8 percent from last year with decreases of 2.4 and 2.7 percent for beef and dairy replacement heifers, along with a 5.2 percent decline in the inventory of other heifers. The inventory of steers over 500 pounds was down 3.5 percent year over year and the inventory of calves under 500 pounds was down 2.6 percent from one year ago. The bull inventory was down 5.0 percent year over year. Total cattle in feedlots on July 1 was 13.1 million head, down 2.2 percent year over year. The calculated supply of feeder cattle (other heifers + steers + calves – cattle on feed) based on this report is 34.4 million head, 3.6 percent smaller than last year. The report pegged the 2023 calf crop at 33.8 million head, down 1.9 percent year over year. The dairy cow inventory, at 9.4 million head, was unchanged from last year and was the only inventory category in the report not showing a year-over-year decrease.
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