The latest United States Department of Agriculture Cattle report shows the United States cattle herd slipped to 86.2 million ...

U.S. herds are also down roughly 0.6% from July 2025, as cattle ranchers have struggled with drought conditions, higher ...

The 2025 calf crop declined by 1.6% to nearly 32.9 million calves (Figure 1). Of the total annual calf crop, 73.6% were calved in the first half of the year and the remaining 26.4% were calved in the ...

The US cattle herd remained the smallest since 1951 at the start of the year, in the latest signal that consumer beef prices will remain near records.

USDA’s annual report reveals the smallest total herd since 1951, with beef cow numbers falling to 27.6 million despite a slight uptick in replacement heifers.

USDA’s January and July Cattle Inventory reports, released toward the end of each respective month, provide the total inventory of beef cows, milk cows, bulls, replacement heifers, other steers and ...