Cow-calf production lifestyle choice

The cow-calf stage in raising beef cattle is part of the U.S. agricultural landscape, with a wide variation in farm revenue and production practices across the United States. Unlike other sectors in which farms are becoming larger, a relatively large percentage of beef cow-calf enterprises are still small-scale. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service’s latest Census of Agriculture, more than 622,000 of the 1.9 million U.S. farms — about 33 percent — had at least one beef cow at the end of 2022. Of those farms, about 55 percent had fewer than 20 beef cows. The USDA Economic Research Service researchers suggested in 2011 that beef-cow-calf farming was likely a “lifestyle choice” for many farms, based on factors including farm size and owner characteristics. A more-recent Economic Research Service study showed cow-calf farming continues to be attractive to many farmers for whom lifestyle is likely a primary motivator of farm decision