# America's cattle herd drops to a 75-year low

> The USDA's January 1, 2026 inventory put the US cattle herd at about 86.2 million head, the smallest in 75 years, and the beef cow count fell about 1% to 27.6 million. Ground beef topped $6.60 per pound, and USDA projects beef and veal prices rising another 9.4% in 2026.

- Date: 2026-03-04 · published 2026-03-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/20118-america-s-cattle-herd-drops-to-a-75-year-low
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

A shrinking herd limits the supply of slaughter and feeder cattle, which supports cattle prices and retail beef prices for the foreseeable future.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: bullish ▲
- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2026-02-17 | [75-year-low: National cattle inventory drops to historic level](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20540-75-year-low-national-cattle-inventory-drops-to-historic-level.md) | +0.7% | -4.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-02-02 | [Cattle in U.S. feedyards drop to 8-year low](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20742-cattle-in-u-s-feedyards-drop-to-8-year-low.md) | +1.4% | +4.3% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-05-29 | [Why the U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low — and what it means for beef prices : NPR](https://feedsoft.ai/events/19389-why-the-u-s-cattle-herd-is-at-a-75-year-low-and-what-it-means-for-beef-prices.md) | -0.8% | +1.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-01-30 | [U.S. Cattle Inventory at 75 Year Low \| Paradigm Futures](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21190-u-s-cattle-inventory-at-75-year-low-paradigm-futures.md) | +1.0% | +4.8% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-10-24 | [Live cattle futures jump to 7-year peak as U.S. herd shrinks \| Reuters](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8063-live-cattle-futures-jump-to-7-year-peak-as-u-s-herd-shrinks-reuters.md) | +1.0% | +2.8% |
| FCATTLE | 2026-02-17 | [75-year-low: National cattle inventory drops to historic level](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20540-75-year-low-national-cattle-inventory-drops-to-historic-level.md) | -0.5% | -2.9% |
| FCATTLE | 2026-02-02 | [Cattle in U.S. feedyards drop to 8-year low](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20742-cattle-in-u-s-feedyards-drop-to-8-year-low.md) | +2.0% | -0.8% |
| FCATTLE | 2026-05-29 | [Why the U.S. cattle herd is at a 75-year low — and what it means for beef prices : NPR](https://feedsoft.ai/events/19389-why-the-u-s-cattle-herd-is-at-a-75-year-low-and-what-it-means-for-beef-prices.md) | +0.1% | +4.8% |

## Sources

- wheninyourstate.com: https://wheninyourstate.com/usa/americas-cattle-herd-drops-to-a-75-year-low/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.