The continuous liquidation of the U.S. cow herd has been a big story in the last couple of years.
As cattle country looks to rebuild, the number of cows plays a critical role in growing in numbers overall. However, Oklahoma State University Livestock Economist, Derrell Peel says that we will not know much about the country’s cow numbers until USDA’s January 1st Cattle Inventory Report.
“I think the next annual numbers that we get in January 1 of 2025 will show that the beef cow herd continued to liquidate in 2024. It may not be down too much. I’m kind of estimating at this point about half a percent lower. It depends a little bit on this cow slaughter for the last few weeks of the year,” he explains. “We’re pulling that down pretty hard and that would slow down the rate of liquidation, but I think we’ll be down somewhat in 2024 and you know that gives us a chance maybe to stabilize those numbers in 2025. But I really see little prospects for growth even in the next year.”
Peel also noted that year to date, beef cow slaughter is down almost 18%, and there has not been a lot of price pressure
because there are not as many cows being culled.
