Before the release of Wednesday’s semi-annual cattle inventory report, various trade estimates called for a reduction in overall herd size. The USDA’s report confirmed those estimates with a herd size of 87.2 million head of cattle as of January 1st, 2024. That is a 2% overall reduction in herd size from the 88.8 million head of cattle reported on January 1st 2023. It also makes for the smallest U.S. cattle herd inventory since 1951.
That is Ross Baldwin, a hedging strategist with AgMarket.net. Baldwin says that further revisions to herd numbers offered some support in the market.
The reduction of beef cattle was in line with the overall reduction of herd numbers. There are 28.2 million beef cows in the United States as of Jan. 1, 2024, down 2% from last year. The U.S. calf crop was also down at 33.6 million head, which is a 2% reduction from 2022 and the lowest number since 1941.
Baldwin says the bullish inventory report is especially bullish for feeder futures.
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