Cattle Inventory Projections are Lower for 2025

Budget constraints have caused the USDA to limit the number of reports it releases. Among these reports is the July cattle inventory report. However, there is enough historical context from which some conclusions may be drawn. Jason Franken from Western Illinois University has done the work in modeling these relationships.

A modeling estimates the July US cattle inventory to be 94.2 million head, or about 1.2% lower than in July 2023 hence, it appears the US cattle industry overall remains in a contractionary phase, even if there may be regional pockets of expansion.”

Franken says, given a low inventory and cattle feed on numbers 2024 beef production will be 1.1% lower than last year and then drop another 4.5% in 2025 the per capita beef consumption is expected to remain near 58 pounds per person this year and drop to 56.3 pounds in 2025 as for prices, he predicts that cattle prices are likely to remain above year-ago levels and staying on the topic of cattle, Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from Wisconsin, has introduced the meat Small Business Innovation Act of 2024 to support farmers, ranchers and small and medium-sized processors. The bill makes technical assistance and grants available to help improve the meat processing industry.