The following is a USDA summary of the January 27 cattle inventory numbers. CLICK HERE for the full report. There seems to be no major surprises.
All cattle and calves in the United States as of January 1, 2012 totaled 90.8 million head, 2 percent below the 92.7 million on January 1, 2011. This is the lowest January 1 inventory of all cattle and calves since the 88.1 million on hand in 1952.
All cows and heifers that have calved, at 39.1 million, were down 2 percent from the 40.0 million on January 1, 2011.
- Beef cows, at 29.9 million, were down 3 percent from January 1, 2011.
- Milk cows, at 9.2 million, were up 1 percent from January 1, 2011.
Other class estimates on January 1, 2012 and the change from January 1, 2011, are as follows:
- All heifers 500 pounds and over, 19.4 million, down 1 percent.
- Beef replacement heifers, 5.2 million, up 1 percent.
- Milk replacement heifers, 4.5 million, down 1 percent.
- Other heifers, 9.6 million, down 2 percent.
- Steers weighing 500 pounds and over, 16.1 million, down 2 percent.
- Bulls weighing 500 pounds and over, 2.1 million, down 5 percent.
- Calves under 500 pounds, 14.1 million, down 3 percent.
- Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter in all feedlots, 14.1 million, up 1 percent.
- The combined total of calves under 500 pounds, and other heifers and steers over 500 pounds outside of feedlots was 25.7 million, down 4 percent.
Calf Crop Down 1 Percent
The 2011 calf crop was estimated at 35.3 million head, down 1 percent from 2010. This is the smallest calf crop since the 34.9 million born during 1950. Calves born during the first half of 2011 are estimated at 25.7 million, down 1 percent from 2010.
Source: USDA
Posted by Haylie Shipp
