CATTLE INVENTORY JANUARY 1, 2017

ARIZONA

The January 1, 2017 inventory of all cattle and calves in Arizona totaled 970,000 head, up 8 percent from the January 1, 2016 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 184,000 head, were up 4,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows increased 1,000 head from last year to 196,000 head. Arizona’s 2016 calf crop, at 320,000 head, is up 8 percent from 2015.

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2017 and percent changes from 2016 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 39,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, up 72 percent to 117,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, up 21 percent to 34,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, down 2 percent to 265,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 20,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, up 15 percent to 115,000 head. The total inventory included 253,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, down 2 percent from last year.

COLORADO

The January 1, 2017 inventory of all cattle and calves in Colorado totaled 2.85 million head, up 6 percent from the January 1, 2016 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 805,000 head, were up 33,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows increased 7,000 head from last year to 155,000 head. Colorado’s 2016 calf crop, at 830,000 head, is up 4 percent from 2015.

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2017 and percent changes from 2016 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 200,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 5 percent to 100,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, up 11 percent to 510,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, up 5 percent to 850,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 55,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, up 17 percent to 175,000 head. The total inventory included 940,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, up 3 percent from last year.

MONTANA

The January 1, 2017 inventory of all cattle and calves in Montana totaled 2.65 million head, unchanged from the January 1, 2016 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 1.49 million head, were unchanged from the previous year. Milk cows were unchanged from last year at 14,000 head. Montana’s 2016 calf crop, at 1.47 million head, is unchanged from 2015.

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2017 and percent changes from 2016 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, up 5 percent to 440,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, up 13 percent to 9,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, down 8 percent to 241,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 230,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, down 5,000 head to 100,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, up 4 percent to 130,000 head. The total inventory included 45,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, down 10 percent from last year.

NEW MEXICO

The January 1, 2017 inventory of all cattle and calves in New Mexico totaled 1.43 million head, up 4 percent from the January 1, 2016 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 465,000 head, were up 50,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows increased 10,000 head from last year to 325,000 head. New Mexico’s 2016 calf crop, at 610,000 head, is up 11 percent from 2015.

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2017 and percent changes from 2016 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 5 percent to 100,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 8 percent to 110,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, up 20 percent to 90,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 120,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 35,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, unchanged at 185,000 head.

UTAH

The January 1, 2017 inventory of all cattle and calves in Utah totaled 820,000 head, down 2 percent from the January 1, 2016 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 338,000 head, were up 13,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows decreased 3,000 head from last year to 92,000 head. Utah’s 2016 calf crop, at 380,000 head, is down 3 percent from 2015.

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2017 and percent changes from 2016 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 11 percent to 85,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, up 10 percent to 55,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, down 20 percent to 60,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, down 11 percent to 80,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, up 8 percent to 27,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, down 2 percent to 83,000 head. The total inventory included 20,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, down 26 percent from last year.

WYOMING

The January 1, 2017 inventory of all cattle and calves in Wyoming totaled 1.33 million head, up 2 percent from the January 1, 2016 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 714,000 head, were up 10,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows were unchanged from last year at 6,000 head. Wyoming’s 2016 calf crop, at 660,000 head, is unchanged from 2015.

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2017 and percent changes from 2016 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 2 percent to 185,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 2,000 head to 3,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, up 12 percent to 137,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, up 10 percent to 160,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 40,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, down 15 percent to 85,000 head. The total inventory included 75,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, up 7 percent from last year.

UNITED STATES

All cattle and calves in the United States, as of January 1, 2017, totaled 93.6 million head. This is 2 percent above the 91.9 million head on January 1, 2016.

All cows and heifers that have calved, at 40.6 million head, are 3 percent above the 39.5 million head on January 1, 2016. Beef cows, at 31.2 million head, are up 3 percent from a year ago. Milk cows, at 9.35 million head, are up slightly from the previous year.

All heifers 500 pounds and over, as of January 1, 2017, totaled 20.1 million head. This is 1 percent above the 19.9 million head on January 1, 2016. Beef replacement heifers, at 6.42 million head, are up 1 percent from a year ago. Milk replacement heifers, at 4.75 million head, are down 1 percent from the previous year. Other heifers, at 8.88 million head, are 1 percent above a year earlier.

Calves under 500 pounds in the United States, as of January 1, 2017, totaled 14.4 million head. This is 2 percent above the 14.1 million head on January 1, 2016. Steers weighing 500 pounds and over totaled 16.4 million head, up slightly from one year ago. Bulls weighing 500 pounds and over totaled 2.23 million head, up 4 percent from the previous year.

The 2016 calf crop in the United States was estimated at 35.1 million head, up 3 percent from last year’s calf crop. Calves born during the first half of 2016 were estimated at 25.6 million head. This is up 4 percent from the first half of 2015. Calves born during the second half of 2016 were estimated at 9.53 million head, 27 percent of the total 2016 calf crop.

Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for all feedlots totaled 13.1 million head on January 1, 2017. The inventory is down 1 percent from the January 1, 2016 total of 13.2 million head. Cattle on feed, in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head, accounted for 81.2 percent of the total cattle on feed on January 1, 2017. This is up 1 percent from the previous year. The combined total of calves under 500 pounds and other heifers and steers over 500 pounds (outside of feedlots) is 26.6 million head. This is 2 percent above one year ago.

All inventory and calf crop estimates for January 1, 2016 were reviewed using calf crop, official slaughter, import and export data, and the relationship of new survey information to the prior surveys. Based on the findings of this review, January 1, 2016 all cattle and calves decreased by 0.1 percent, all cows and heifers that have calved decreased by 0.4 percent, and 2015 calf crop decreased by 0.6 percent. State level estimates were reviewed and changes were made to reallocate inventory estimates to the United States total.