U.S. Cattle Inventory to Lowest Levels Recorded in 73 years

U.S. Cattle Inventory to Lowest Levels Recorded in 73 years

We have been monitoring the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its intention to begin regulations focused on methane. This is out of concern that the organization is poised to join the globalist “War on Meat.”

And while rules will start with the “evil” fossil-fuel industry, agriculture is the major emitter of methane. Because of the bovine digestive system, cattle ranches and dairy farms produce significant amounts of this gas. And while methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, the American plans were once filled with buffalo herds…and the planet remained quite habitable.

However, while those rules have yet to be implemented, ranchers must make hard decisions based on current realities. The cattle inventory is currently down to the lowest levels recorded in 73 years.

Data shows the nation’s cattle supply has steadily dropped since 1998 from about 110 million cattle head, despite a small bump in inventory between 2013 and 2018, to 87.2 million head this year. Although several factors contributed to this decline over the last few decades, in most recent years, extreme weather has been the primary culprit.

“It’s relatively flat, but it’s been on a downward trend for about 40 years,” said Darren Hudson, professor and Larry Combes Endowed Chair of Agricultural Competitiveness at Texas Tech. “One reason is because per-capita meat consumption has dropped, but total meat consumption has not because population growth is outstripping the drop in per-capita consumption.”

Around the same time last year, the agency issued a similar report — with the same year-over-year decline of 2% — after the months-long drought in 2022 forced cattle raisers into early slaughter. In Texas, this was the biggest cattle slaughter in a decade as roughly 80,000 head of cattle were culled each week throughout the summer.

A contributing factor to the low beef supply is Bidenomics.

“This is a bad situation for America’s cattle farmers and America because we’re producing 1 billion pounds less beef than we were in this country, just a year ago,” John Boyd, Jr., president of the National Black Farmers Association, said Thursday on “Fox & Friends First.”

“We’re not investing in America’s beef and cattle farmers, and Biden policies are hurting America’s cattlemen, such as myself. They should be invested in America’s cattle farmers and making sure that we have the tools needed to stay on the farm.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), nationwide beef cattle inventory dropped to 28.2 million this year — the lowest level since the 1970s and down 2% from a year ago. Total U.S. cattle and calf inventory dropped to its lowest level since 1951.

Agricultural economists say persistent drought over the last three years, along with high input costs and inflation are putting pressure on both consumers and farmers.

Get ready to enjoy less beef and more inflation.

The overall cattle inventory, along with the beef cattle inventory, is historically low, yet the supply of cattle on feed is quite large.

The calf crop and beef heifers held for replacement are also historically low, which will hinder cattle inventory growth in 2024 and possibly 2025. This should provide opportunities for profitability in the cattle business in 2024, but with a smaller calf crop and fewer replacement heifers, declining production may also lead to record beef prices for consumers.

Domestic consumer demand for beef has remained strong but with record prices on the horizon, consumers’ ability and willingness to withstand higher price levels in 2024 will be the determining factor.

Additional and unneeded regulation will make it even more difficult for American consumers to enjoy the selection of high-quality protein we are used to.

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