Cattle ISSN: 1948-9099 Released July 25, 2025, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). July 1 Cattle Inventory Down 1 Percent All cattle and calves in the United States on July 1, 2025 totaled 94.2 million head, 1 percent below the 95.4 million head on July 1, 2023. All cows and heifers that have calved totaled 38.1 million head, 1 percent below the 38.4 million head on July 1, 2023. Beef cows, at 28.7 million head, are down 1 percent from two years ago. Milk cows, at 9.45 million head, are up 1 percent from 2023. All heifers 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2025 totaled 14.6 million head, 2 percent below the 14.9 million head on July 1, 2023. Beef replacement heifers, at 3.70 million head, are down 3 percent from two years earlier. Milk replacement heifers, at 3.50 million head, are unchanged from 2023. Other heifers, at 7.40 million head, are 3 percent below two years ago. Steers 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2025 totaled 13.8 million head, down 1 percent from July 1, 2023. Bulls 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2025 totaled 1.90 million head, unchanged from two years earlier. Calves under 500 pounds on July 1, 2025 totaled 25.8 million head, down 2 percent from 2023. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for all feedlots totaled 13.0 million head on July 1, 2025, down 1 percent from two years earlier. Cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head accounted for 85.6 percent of the total cattle on feed on July 1, 2025, down slightly from two years ago. The total of calves under 500 pounds and other heifers and steers over 500 pounds (outside of feedlots), at 34.0 million head, is down 2 percent from the 34.7 million head on July 1, 2023. Calf Crop Down 1 Percent The 2025 calf crop in the United States is expected to be 33.1 million head, down 1 percent from last year. Calves born during the first half of 2025 are estimated at 24.3 million head, down 1 percent from the first half of 2024. An additional 8.80 million calves are expected to be born during the second half of 2025. This report was approved on July 25, 2025. Secretary of Agriculture Designate Brooke Appleton Agricultural Statistics Board Chairperson Lance Honig Cattle Inventory by Class and Calf Crop - United States: July 1, 2023 and 2025 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Percent of Class : 2023 : 2025 :previous year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----- 1,000 head ----- percent : Cattle and calves ...................: 95,400.0 94,200.0 99 : Cows and heifers that have calved ...: 38,400.0 38,100.0 99 Beef cows .........................: 29,000.0 28,650.0 99 Milk cows .........................: 9,400.0 9,450.0 101 : Heifers 500 pounds and over .........: 14,900.0 14,600.0 98 For beef cow replacement ..........: 3,800.0 3,700.0 97 For milk cow replacement ..........: 3,500.0 3,500.0 100 Other heifers .....................: 7,600.0 7,400.0 97 : Steers 500 pounds and over ..........: 14,000.0 13,800.0 99 Bulls 500 pounds and over ...........: 1,900.0 1,900.0 100 Calves under 500 pounds .............: 26,200.0 25,800.0 98 : Cattle on feed ......................: 13,100.0 13,000.0 99 : Calf crop ...........................: 33,563.0 33,100.0 99 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Calf Crop and Percent of Total by Six-Month Period - United States: 2023, 2024, and Preliminary 2025 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2023 : 2024 : 2025 :----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Period : : Percent of : : Percent of : : Percent of : Number : total : Number : total : Number : total ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head percent 1,000 head percent 1,000 head percent : January 1 - June 30 ........: 24,700.0 73.6 24,600.0 73.4 24,300.0 73.4 July 1 - December 31 .......: 8,863.0 26.4 8,929.5 26.6 8,800.0 26.6 : Total ......................: 33,563.0 100.0 33,529.5 100.0 33,100.0 100.0 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Statistical Methodology Survey Procedures: A random sample of United States producers were surveyed to provide data for these estimates. Survey procedures ensured that all cattle producers, regardless of size, had a chance to be included in the survey. A probability list frame survey with a sample of approximately 17,900 producers and feedlots was conducted. These operations were contacted during the first half of July by mail, telephone, internet, and face-to-face personal interviews and 73 percent of the reports were usable. An additional sample of operators representing those not found on our list frame was also contacted. Operators were asked to report inventories as of the first of the month and calf crop for the entire year of 2025. Estimating Procedures: These cattle estimates were prepared by the Agricultural Statistics Board after reviewing National indications and analysis. National survey data was reviewed for reasonableness with estimates from the previous year using a balance sheet. The balance sheet begins with the previous inventory estimate, adds to it estimates of births and imports for the first six months, and subtracts estimates of slaughter, exports, and deaths for the first six months of the current year. This indicated ending inventory level is compared to the Agricultural Statistics Board estimate for reasonableness. Class estimates are rounded to the nearest 100,000 head with the exception of beef cows, milk cows, beef heifers, and milk heifers which are rounded to the nearest 50,000 head. Revision Policy: Revisions to previous estimates are made to improve year to year and item to item relationships. Estimates for the previous year are subject to revision when current estimates are made and when the January 1 cattle inventory estimates are made. The revisions are primarily based on livestock slaughter and additional foreign trade and survey data. Estimates will also be reviewed after data from the five-year Census of Agriculture are available. No revisions will be made after that date. Reliability: Since all cattle operators are not included in the sample, survey estimates are subject to sampling variability. Survey results are also subject to non-sampling errors such as omissions, duplications, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. The effects of these errors cannot be measured directly. They are minimized through rigid quality controls in the data collection process and through a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. To assist users in evaluating the reliability of estimates in this report, the "Root Mean Square Error" is shown for selected items in the following table. The "Root Mean Square Error" is a statistical measure based on past performance and is computed using the differences between first and latest estimates. The "Root Mean Square Error" for July cattle inventory estimates over the past 10 years is 0.5 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 94.2 million head by more than 0.5 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 0.9 percent. The table on the following page shows a 10-year record of the range of differences between first and latest estimates for selected items. Using estimates of all cattle and calves as an example, changes between the first inventory estimate and the latest estimate during the past 10 years have averaged 450,000 head, ranging from 0 to 800,000 head. During this period, the initial inventory estimate has been below the latest estimate 1 time and has been above the latest estimate 8 times. This does not imply that the July 1 estimate is likely to understate or overstate final inventory. Reliability of July 1 Cattle Estimates [Based on data from the past 10 years] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Root mean : 90 percent : Difference between first and latest estimate : square error : confidence : : : : : : : level :------------------------------------------------------------- Item : : : : : : Years : : : : : :------------------------------- : : : Average :Smallest : Largest : Below latest : Above latest ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent ------ 1,000 head ----- ----- number ---- : All cattle and calves ...................: 0.5 0.9 450 0 800 1 8 : All cows and heifers that have calved ...: 0.6 1.1 190 0 400 0 8 : Calf crop ...............................: 0.9 1.7 250 20 703 1 9 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@usda.gov. Travis Averill, Chief, Livestock Branch................................................ (202) 692-0069 Sherry Bertramsen - Livestock Slaughter............................................. (202) 690-8632 Tiffany Byrne - Dairy Products...................................................... (651) 440-7789 Ryan Cowen - Cattle, Cattle on Feed................................................. (202) 720-3040 Kim DaPra - Milk Production......................................................... (202) 720-3278 Fatema Haque - Poultry Slaughter, Turkey Hatchery, Turkeys Raised................... (202) 720-3244 Derron Martin - Catfish, Census of Aquaculture, Egg Products, Mink, Trout........... (202) 690-3237 Ralph Mondesir - Hogs and Pigs...................................................... (202) 720-3106 Suzanne Richards - Cost of Pollination, Honey, Honey Bee Colonies, Sheep and Goats.. (202) 720-4448 Shulonda Shaw - Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses, Cold Storage................... (202) 720-3240 Autumn Stone - Layers, Eggs......................................................... (202) 690-3676 Takiyah Walker - Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery................................. (202) 720-6147 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: www.nass.usda.gov. The national specific reports are available via a free e-mail subscription. To set-up this free subscription, visit www.nass.usda.gov and click on "National" in upper right corner above "search" box to create an account and select the reports you would like to receive. Cornell's Mann Library website houses NASS's and other agency's archived reports at https://usda.library.cornell.edu. All email subscriptions containing reports will be sent from https://usda.library.cornell.edu. 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