Cattle Inventory Report to show more herd contraction

USDA’s Cattle Inventory Report at 2 p.m. CT is expected to show the U.S. cattle herd as of Jan. 1 contracted 1.2% from year-ago, based on an Urner Barry survey. The beef cow inventory and the number of beef replacement heifers are both expected to be down 1.8%, which would signal the beef herd will continue to contract in the years ahead. The 2021 calf crop is expected to be down 0.9% from the previous year. The dairy cow herd is anticipated to have declined 0.4%, though dairy replacement heifers are expected to be up 0.2% from last year.

Cattle Inventory	Average estimate (Percent of year-ago)	Range of estimates (Percent of year-ago)
All cattle/calves (Jan. 1)	98.8	98.4-99.3
Cow/heifers that have calved	98.6	98.3-98.9
Beef cows	98.2	97.8-98.6
Dairy cows	99.6	99.3-100.0
Heifers 500 lbs.+	99.2	98.4-99.6
Beef heifer replacements	98.2	96.8-98.9
Dairy heifer replacements	100.2	98.8-101.1
Other heifers	99.3	98.8-99.9
Steers 500 lbs.+	98.7	98.1-99.6