United States Cattle Inventory Down 1 Percent

There were 101 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of July 1, 2021, according to the Cattle report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

(Note to graph: The July Cattle report was suspended in 2013 and 2016 due to the federal government sequestration.)

Other key findings in the report were:

• Of the 101 million head inventory, all cows and heifers that have calved totaled 40.9 million.
• There are 31.4 million head of beef cows in the United States as of July 1, 2021, down 2% from last year.

To obtain an accurate measurement of the current state of the U.S. cattle industry, NASS surveyed nearly 16,000 operators across the nation during the first half of July. NASS asked these producers to report their cattle inventories as of July 1, 2021, and calf crop for the entire year of 2021 by internet, mail, or telephone.