July 1 Cattle Inventory Down 3 Percent
All cattle and calves in the United States on July 1, 2023 totaled 95.9 million head, 3 percent below the 98.6 million head on July 1, 2022.
All cows and heifers that have calved totaled 38.8 million head, 2 percent below the 39.6 million head on July 1, 2022.
Beef cows, at 29.4 million head, down 3 percent from a year ago. Milk cows, at 9.40 million head, unchanged from previous year.
All heifers 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2023 totaled 15.0 million head, 4 percent below the 15.6 million head on July 1, 2022.
Beef replacement heifers, at 4.05 million head, down 2 percent from a year ago. Milk replacement heifers, at 3.65 million head, down 3 percent from previous year. Other heifers, at 7.30 million head, 5 percent below a year earlier.
Steers 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2023 totaled 13.9 million head, down 3 percent from July 1, 2022.
Bulls 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2023 totaled 1.90 million head, down 5 percent from previous year.
Calves under 500 pounds on July 1, 2023 totaled 26.3 million head, down 3 percent from a year earlier.
Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for all feedlots totaled 13.1 million head on July 1, 2023, down 2 percent from previous year. Cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head accounted for 85.5 percent of the total cattle on feed on July 1, 2023, up slightly from previous year. The total of calves under 500 pounds and other heifers and steers over 500 pounds (outside of feedlots), at 34.4 million head, down 4 percent from the 35.7 million head on July 1, 2022.
Calf Crop Down 2 Percent
The 2023 calf crop in the United States is expected to be 33.8 million head, down 2 percent from last year. Calves born during the first half of 2023 are estimated at 24.8 million head, down 2 percent from the first half of 2022. An additional 9.00 million calves are expected to be born during the second half of 2023.
