U.S. Cattle Industry Down 3 Percent

The U.S. Department of Agriculture recorded the lowest number of cattle on U.S. farms since 1973. In a report issued this week, only 95.0 million head of cattle were reported to be on U.S. farms as of July 1. This is the lowest inventory for July 1 since the report series began in 1973. Other key findings in the report show the 2014 calf crop is expected to be 33.6 million while tighter cattle supplies and historic cattle prices, all cattle on feed decreased to 11.6 million, down 6 percent from 2012. Read more.