US cattle numbers down 3% on last year's levels

The total number of cattle and calves in the US as of January 1, 2023, totalled 89.3 million head. This figure is 3% below the 92.1 million head in the country on January 1, 2022.

That’s according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) at the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) which published its cattle inventory report on Tuesday (January 31).

According to the report, the number of cows and heifers in the US that had calved in the past 12 months – as of January 1, as mentioned above – is 38.3 million head, which is 3% below the 39.4 million head on January 1, 2022.

Of the 38.3 million cows and heifers, 28.9 million of these were beef cows (suckler cows). The number of beef cows is down 4% on last year.

The number of milk cows in the US stands at 9.40 million head, which is up slightly from the previous year.

Heifers 500 pounds (227kg) and over as of January 1, 2023 totalled 19.2 million head, which is 4% below the 19.9 million head on January 1, 2022.

Beef (suckler) replacement heifer numbers were at 5.16 million head, which is down 6% from one year ago.

Milk replacement heifer numbers stood at 4.34 million head, which is down 2% from the previous year.

The number of all other heifers is 9.67 million head, which is 3% below the same time last year.

Steers weighing 500 pounds and over as of January 1, 2023 totalled 16.1 million head, down 3% from January 1, 2022.

Meanwhile, bulls weighing 500 pounds and over as of January 1, 2023 totalled 2.03 million head, down 4% from January 1, 2022.

And, calves under 500 pounds as of January 1, 2023 totalled 13.6 million head, down 3% from January 1, 2022.

According to the report, cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the US for all feedlots totalled 14.2 million head on January 1, 2023, which is down 4% from the January 1, 2022.

Cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head accounted for 82.5% of the total cattle on feed on January 1, 2023, up 1% from the previous year.

The combined total of calves under 500 pounds and other heifers and steers over 500 pounds (outside of feedlots) stands at 25.3 million head, 3% below the figure from January 1, 2022.