Livestock expansion unlikely until 2025, economists say

Despite some market signals that usually result in expansion, cattle and hog producers are likely to wait until at least 2025. Numbers are down for a variety of reasons in the cattle industry, says Derrell Peel, Extension livestock marketing economist with Oklahoma State University. Those factors include drought conditions throughout much of the country. “I haven’t seen anything starting despite these record high prices we’re seeing for calves,” he says. “Those price signals usually get expansion going, but it hasn’t happened yet.” Thousands of cows were culled in 2023 and going into 2024 because of drought. Producers struggled to find adequate grass to maintain the cattle inventory. “They had to make a difficult call,” Peel says. Because of the record prices last year, he says many producers sold heifers to take advantage of that income. Peel says because of that, it’s going to take longer to rebuild the herd. “Last year’s beef cow herd was the lowest we’ve seen since 1961, and