01/04/06 World cattle numbers

World Cattle Numbers I just looked at a short article compiled by Cattle Fax. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be right back to relate some of the more interesting numbers. The brief report by Tod Kalous with Cattle Fax in Inglewood, Colorado put some world cattle and beef numbers in perspective. The report has to be estimates at best since these numbers have to come from government census data and surveys. The total number of cattle worldwide reported in this article is one billion thirty five million head. The beef cow herd tallies in around 224 million head with China having 29% of those, Brazil at 21% and the United States at third with 15% of the total. The United States is number one in actual beef production with 22% of the total, which was well over second place Brazil at 16%, and third place European Union with 15%. Canada added to its beef cowherd by 300,000 head to lead the way in percentage increase, but China's cowherd expanded by 2.5 million head and Brazil's increased by 1.4 million head. This report again shows what has been written and talked about extensively the last couple of years. If South American can work through some herd health issues, improve transportation problems and increase efficiency then that area of the world is poised to be a big competitor in the world beef market with Brazil leading the way. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Livestock Reporter 12/15/05