The July Cattle Report confirmed that the cumulative effects of drought that past two years have accelerated liquidation of the beef cattle herd. The July 1 inventory of all cattle and calves was 98.8 million head, down 2.0 percent year over year. The beef cow herd decreased by 2.4 percent year over year, a decline of 750,000 head from last year to the current total of 30.35 million head.
From the recent peak in 2018, the July beef cow inventory has declined by 6.3 percent, or a total of 2.05 million head. The July…
