# LIVESTOCK-Live Cattle Down Slightly; Cattle Inventory Shows Steep Decline

> USDA's semiannual cattle inventory showed the U.S. beef cow herd fell to 28.9 million head, its lowest level since 1962, after a severe drought raised feed costs across the Plains. Heifers retained for beef cow replacement fell 6% from a year earlier to 5.16 million head. Live cattle futures set new contract highs before settling slightly lower, while lean hog futures eased on heavier market-ready supplies.

- Date: 2023-01-31 · published 2023-01-31T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/37927-livestock-live-cattle-down-slightly-cattle-inventory-shows-steep-decline
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md), [Lean Hogs](https://feedsoft.ai/c/HOGS.md)

## Why it matters

A shrinking beef cow herd tightens future beef supply and supports cattle prices, while drought-driven feed costs make rebuilding herds harder. Hog prices faced pressure from larger near-term supplies.

## Read by commodity

- HOGS: bearish ▼
- FCATTLE: bullish ▲
- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2021-02-05 | [Cattle inventories drift slightly lower \| Western Livestock Journal](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48573-cattle-inventories-drift-slightly-lower-western-livestock-journal.md) | +0.0% | +1.6% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-01-01 | [Jan. 1 Cattle Inventory Down 2%](https://feedsoft.ai/events/31617-jan-1-cattle-inventory-down-2.md) | -0.4% | +2.3% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-01-31 | [Jan. 1 Cattle Inventory Down 2%](https://feedsoft.ai/events/43084-jan-1-cattle-inventory-down-2.md) | +1.0% | +2.0% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-07-23 | [United States cattle inventory down 2 percent \| DRGNews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/40434-united-states-cattle-inventory-down-2-percent-drgnews.md) | -0.7% | +2.3% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-03-23 | [U.S. cattle inventory down fractionally - Progressive Cattle \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/42219-u-s-cattle-inventory-down-fractionally-progressive-cattle-ag-proud.md) | +0.5% | +2.0% |
| FCATTLE | 2024-01-01 | [Jan. 1 Cattle Inventory Down 2%](https://feedsoft.ai/events/31617-jan-1-cattle-inventory-down-2.md) | +0.7% | +8.6% |
| FCATTLE | 2022-01-31 | [Jan. 1 Cattle Inventory Down 2%](https://feedsoft.ai/events/43084-jan-1-cattle-inventory-down-2.md) | +4.1% | -1.2% |
| FCATTLE | 2022-07-23 | [United States cattle inventory down 2 percent \| DRGNews](https://feedsoft.ai/events/40434-united-states-cattle-inventory-down-2-percent-drgnews.md) | -1.6% | -0.0% |

## Sources

- agriculture.com: https://www.agriculture.com/markets/newswire/livestock-live-cattle-down-slightly-cattle-inventory-shows-steep-decline

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