07/29/08 A slight contraction in the cattle herd

Washington Ag July 29, 2008 The USDA has issued its mid-year cattle inventory report and department livestock analyst Shale Shagum says the total U.S. cattle herd is just a little smaller than a year ago. Shagum: "The cattle inventory report indicates the number of cattle in the U.S. was down fractionally from July of last year at about 104.3 million head. Basically what we are seeing is a very slight contraction in the sector. The number of beef cows were down about one percent and was offset slightly by an increase in the number of dairy cows which were up one percent. Some of the interesting numbers were the number of heifers being retained for beef cow replacement were down about two percent while those for milk cow replacement were about unchanged. The calf crop was also down fractionally from a year ago but less than one percent lower." Shagum says the general trend is towards a smaller cattle herd which in turn implies a smaller calf crop and probably slightly less beef as we move into the coming years. USDA's mid-year inventory did not provide a state-by-state breakdown. The mid-year sheep inventory from the USDA indicated the number of sheep and lambs in the U.S. as of July 1st totaled 7.35 million head, down three percent from July 1st of 2007. I'm Bob Hoff.