U.S. Cattle Herd Continues to Expand

Although the supply of cattle in all U.S. feedlots at the start of 2017 was down from a year earlier, the overall trend in cattle is toward bigger herds, according to the USDA’s annual Cattle Inventory report.

As of January 1, the U.S. cattle herd was 1.7 million head larger than a year earlier and the largest it’s been in seven years, the USDA said. All cattle and calves totaled 93.6 million head on the first day of 2017, which is 101.8 percent of a year earlier.

USDA pegged the U.S. cow herd at nearly 40.6 million head or 102.7 percent of a year earlier. The beef cow herd was 103.5 percent of a year earlier, while the milk cow herd was 100.4 percent.

The total supply of cattle in all U.S. feedlots as of Jan. 1 was 99.3 percent of a year earlier, confirming tight market-ready cattle supplies in the near term.