USDA released its Cattle Inventory report today. The total inventory of all cattle and calves as of 1 January is 94.4 million head, down a little less than half of percent from the 94.8 million head from 1 January 2019. Top line numbers from the report:
Cows and heifers that have calved were 40.7 million head, 99 percent of last year.
The number of beef cows was 99 percent of last year at 31.3 million head, and somewhat surprisingly with the state of the dairy industry and the trend in culling, dairy cows at 9.33 million were down only slightly from last year.
The calf crop in 2019 was estimated at 36.1 million head, 99 percent of the 2018 crop. Calves born during the first half of 2019 were estimated...
What You Need to Know Today: Crude oil prices extended their rally today, supported by several developments, including escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and growing concerns about supply disruptions. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to remove 50 perc...
Key Takeaways: The agricultural trade surplus has become a sizable deficit: the balance swung from a $40.1 billion surplus in 2011 to a $40.7 billion deficit in 2025. Imports kept growing while exports lost momentum: between 2020 and 2025, agricultural imports increased 45 percent, compa...
USDA released its October Cattle on Feed report Friday, showing 11.4 million cattle in feedlots with capacity for 1,000 head or more, slightly below last year. September placements were the lowest for the month since records began in 1996, marking the third consecutive month of placements sett...
Total Red Meat & Poultry September 2026 total red meat and poultry stocks totaled 1.97 billion pounds, down 1.4 percent from August despite typically increasing 0.8 percent during the month, and were 1.5 percent below September 2025 levels. The decline pushed total inventories to a new five...
