Nation's cattle inventory up 2 percent; Calf crop grows 3 percent

All cattle and calves in the U.S., as of Jan. 1, 2017, totaled 93.6 million head. This is 2 percent above the 91.9 million head on Jan. 1, 2016. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 40.6 million head, are 3 percent above the 39.5 million head on Jan. 1, 2016. Beef cows, at 31.2 million head, are up 3 percent from a year ago. Milk cows, at 9.35 million head, are up slightly from the previous year. The 2016 calf crop was estimated at 35.1 million head, up 3 percent from last year’s calf crop.  Calves born during the first half of 2016 were estimated at 25.6 million head. This is up 4 percent from the first half of 2015. Calves born during the second half of 2016 were estimated at 9.53 million head, 27 percent of the total 2016 calf crop. Click or tap here to read the entire report from USDA-NASS (PDF)….