United States Cattle Inventory Down Slightly

Feb 01, 2021

There were 93.6 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of Jan. 1, 2021, according to the Cattle report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Other key findings in the report were:

Of the 93.6 million head inventory, all cows and heifers that have calved totaled 40.6 million.
There were 31.2 million beef cows in the United States as of Jan. 1, 2021, down 1% from last year.
The number of milk cows in the United States increased to 9.4 million.
U.S. calf crop was estimated at 35.1 million head, down 1% from the previous year.
All cattle on feed were at 14.7 million head, up slightly from 2020.
To obtain an accurate measurement of the current state of the U.S. cattle industry, NASS surveyed over 34,900 operators across the nation during the first half of January. Surveyed producers were asked to report their cattle inventories as of Jan. 1, 2021, and calf crop for the entire year of 2020 online, by mail, or telephone.

Source : usda.gov

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.