# U.S. Cattle Inventory at 75 Year Low | Paradigm Futures

> USDA's January 30 cattle report put total US cattle inventory at 86.2 million head, down 0.4% from a year earlier and the lowest since 1951. Cattle on feed fell 3% to 13.8 million head, and December placements dropped 5%.

- Date: 2026-01-30 · published 2026-01-30T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/21190-u-s-cattle-inventory-at-75-year-low-paradigm-futures
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

A shrinking herd and fewer cattle on feed tighten near-term beef supply and support higher live and feeder cattle prices. Limited heifer retention means the rebuild will be slow.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: bullish ▲
- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2023-01-31 | [U.S. cattle inventory falls 3%](https://feedsoft.ai/events/37278-u-s-cattle-inventory-falls-3.md) | +1.6% | +4.7% |
| 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 | 2025-01-31 | [U.S. Beef Cattle Inventory Falls to the Lowest Level in 64 Years - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/26447-u-s-beef-cattle-inventory-falls-to-the-lowest-level-in-64-years-agweb.md) | -0.9% | -3.5% |
| 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 | 2023-02-06 | [Cattle Futures Rally on Inventory Report, Hogs Find Possible Support](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10212-cattle-futures-rally-on-inventory-report-hogs-find-possible-support.md) | +1.2% | +4.3% |
| FCATTLE | 2023-01-31 | [U.S. cattle inventory falls 3%](https://feedsoft.ai/events/37278-u-s-cattle-inventory-falls-3.md) | +2.1% | +3.2% |
| 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 | 2025-01-31 | [U.S. Beef Cattle Inventory Falls to the Lowest Level in 64 Years - AgWeb](https://feedsoft.ai/events/26447-u-s-beef-cattle-inventory-falls-to-the-lowest-level-in-64-years-agweb.md) | -5.9% | -2.5% |

## Sources

- paradigmfutures.net: https://paradigmfutures.net/a/meats/cattle-inventories-1-26/

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