For the first time since 2007, the U.S. dairy and beef cattle herd has expanded. After reaching the lowest number of cattle since 1951 at the start of last year, 2015 is heading in the opposite direction. As of January 1, there were 89.9 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service.
That number is up 1.4 percent from 2014. The dairy industry saw a similar growth pattern, as the number of milk cows on U.S dairy farms rang in at 9.3 million, up about 1 percent over 2014 levels. The last time the U.S. had a dairy herd of that size was the beginning of 2009. Sky-high feed prices and painfully low milk prices at that time prompted herd reductions and aggressive culling, dropping the national dairy population 230,000 head by the end of the year.
Despite advantageous beef prices, dairy cattle slaughter was down almost 10 percent from the year before, coming in at 2.8 million head. And even with smaller milk checks looming on the horizon, dairy producers still added 22,000 cows last December, which was the greatest month-to-month growth since 2008.
Meanwhile, dairy heifer inventories hovered near a five-year low. As of January 1, the number of heifers (500 pounds or larger) stood at 4.62 million head, or 49.6 heifers per 100 cows.
Leading the way in growth was the number of replacement beef heifers, up 4.1 percent to 5.8 million head. The number of beef cows rose 2.1 percent to 29.7 million head, while the number of cattle on feed expanded to 13.1 million, up 1 percent.
(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2015
February 9, 2015
