# Economics of U.S. Beef and Cattle Market | Farm Bureau Intel Markets | American Farm Bureau Federation

> The American Farm Bureau economist describes US cattle producers finally earning dependable returns after years of losses, with the herd at 86.7 million head on January 1, 2025, the lowest in 74 years. He warns that record production costs and market interventions to lower beef prices could discourage herd rebuilding.

- Date: 2025-10-29 · published 2025-10-29T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: macro · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/22524-economics-of-u-s-beef-and-cattle-market-farm-bureau-intel-markets-american-farm
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

Herd rebuilding would eventually raise feed demand, but interventions that depress cattle prices could stall restocking, weighing on the longer-term outlook for feed grains and byproducts.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: neutral
- LCATTLE: neutral

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2025-05-23 | [Beef Demand – The Key to Cattle Prices \| Farm Bureau Intel Markets \| American Farm Bureau Federation](https://feedsoft.ai/events/24800-beef-demand-the-key-to-cattle-prices-farm-bureau-intel-markets-american-farm.md) | +0.1% | +4.5% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-03-17 | [Herd liquidation: Many factors beyond drought conditions impacting cattle markets – AgriNews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42220-herd-liquidation-many-factors-beyond-drought-conditions-impacting-cattle.md) | +0.3% | +0.6% |
| LCATTLE | 2020-04-06 | [Examining COVID-19’s effect on cattle markets](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53772-examining-covid-19-s-effect-on-cattle-markets.md) | -4.8% | -9.3% |
| LCATTLE | 2019-01-19 | [Market Outlook 2019: So far, so good - Progressive Cattle \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61220-market-outlook-2019-so-far-so-good-progressive-cattle-ag-proud.md) | -0.1% | +0.6% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-01-28 | [Is the beef market headed for a crash?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21196-is-the-beef-market-headed-for-a-crash.md) | +2.0% | +4.6% |
| FCATTLE | 2025-05-23 | [Beef Demand – The Key to Cattle Prices \| Farm Bureau Intel Markets \| American Farm Bureau Federation](https://feedsoft.ai/events/24800-beef-demand-the-key-to-cattle-prices-farm-bureau-intel-markets-american-farm.md) | +1.2% | +2.5% |
| FCATTLE | 2026-08-01 | [Economist sees growing risk for tighter feeder cattle margins in 2027](https://feedsoft.ai/events/18480-economist-sees-growing-risk-for-tighter-feeder-cattle-margins-in-2027.md) | +1.0% | -7.8% |
| FCATTLE | 2020-04-06 | [Examining COVID-19’s effect on cattle markets](https://feedsoft.ai/events/53772-examining-covid-19-s-effect-on-cattle-markets.md) | +6.3% | +10.0% |

## Sources

- fb.org: https://www.fb.org/intel/markets/economics-of-u-s-beef-and-cattle-market

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