Revisions to January Cattle Inventories

Beef cow inventories stood at 28.86 million head, down by 0.5% from the previous year. Since the 2019 peak, beef cow numbers have decreased by 3.78 million head. Despite the reduction in herd size, U.S. beef production per cow has risen by 45 pounds from 2019 to 2024 and by 72 pounds since the cycle began in 2014, highlighting producing more with a smaller cow herd.