(WASHINGTON D.C.)– Cattle inventory in the U.S. is down 2% from 2023 according to the latest biannual Cattle Inventory Report from USDA, released on Wednesday.
All cattle and calves in the United States as of January 1, 2024 totaled 87.2 million head, 2 percent below the 88.8 million head on January 1, 2023. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 37.6 million head, were 2 percent below the 38.3 million head on January 1, 2023. Beef cows, at 28.2 million head, were down 2 percent from a year ago. Milk cows, at 9.36 million head, were down slightly from the previous year.
USDA also shows that the 2023 calf crop is down 2% from the previous year with an estimate of 33.6 million head in the latest report.
View the full report here: https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/h702q636h/6108x003v/kk91h696g/catl0124.pdf