U.S. Beef Herd Rebuild Could Take Years

The U.S. beef cow inventory has fallen to its lowest level in more than 60 years. With no significant changes on the horizon that would quickly reverse the trend, rebuilding the U.S. beef cow herd to historical norms is shaping up to be a years-long undertaking. According to a new research brief from CoBank’s Knowledge Exchange, current market conditions are incentivizing cow-calf producers to sell heifer calves rather than retain them for future breeding purposes. From a financial standpoint, the benefit of selling calves for immediate gain far outweighs the risks of investing in those calves to become part of their reproductive cow herd. CoBank researcher Abbi Prins says, “Given the route calf prices have gone, it’s a become a no-brainer decision for some cow-calf operators to sell new crop calves for immediate cash flow,” Ultimately, calf prices will be the determining factor when it comes to whether the U.S. beef cow herd retracts further or begins to grow.