# Counting Cows: Drought, Costs Will Drive Further Reductions - Drovers

> USDA's cattle inventory found 30.13 million beef cows on January 1, 2022, down 2.3% year over year. Drought covering more than 61% of the contiguous US and high feed costs are driving herd liquidation toward 2014 lows.

- Date: 2022-04-27 · published 2022-04-27T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: weather · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/41786-counting-cows-drought-costs-will-drive-further-reductions-drovers
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md), [Corn](https://feedsoft.ai/c/CORN.md)

## Why it matters

Shrinking cow numbers point to tighter beef supplies ahead, which supports fed and feeder cattle prices, while drought and expensive feed raise cow-calf costs.

## Read by commodity

- CORN: bullish ▲
- FCATTLE: bullish ▲
- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2021-08-18 | [US drought could have implications for beef exports
						 \| The Cattle Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45518-us-drought-could-have-implications-for-beef-exports-the-cattle-site.md) | +1.9% | +0.9% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-08-01 | [Maximizing Profits Under Drought Conditions, Higher Input Costs, and National Herd Liquidation \| UNL Beef \| Nebraska](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39970-maximizing-profits-under-drought-conditions-higher-input-costs-and-national.md) | +0.1% | +3.6% |
| LCATTLE | 2023-02-03 | [CattleFax Forecasts Producer Profitability in 2023 with Potential Drought Relief for the West](https://feedsoft.ai/events/37485-cattlefax-forecasts-producer-profitability-in-2023-with-potential-drought.md) | +1.3% | +4.1% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-11-11 | [Return of US drought delays cattle-herd rebuilding, hurting Tyson Foods](https://feedsoft.ai/events/27539-return-of-us-drought-delays-cattle-herd-rebuilding-hurting-tyson-foods.md) | -1.1% | +1.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2022-06-24 | [Drought conditions pull cattle forward in 2022; limited cattle supplies draw down 2023 production - Progressive Cattle \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/41082-drought-conditions-pull-cattle-forward-in-2022-limited-cattle-supplies-draw.md) | +1.3% | -0.4% |
| FCATTLE | 2021-08-18 | [US drought could have implications for beef exports
						 \| The Cattle Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45518-us-drought-could-have-implications-for-beef-exports-the-cattle-site.md) | +1.3% | -1.2% |
| FCATTLE | 2022-08-01 | [Maximizing Profits Under Drought Conditions, Higher Input Costs, and National Herd Liquidation \| UNL Beef \| Nebraska](https://feedsoft.ai/events/39970-maximizing-profits-under-drought-conditions-higher-input-costs-and-national.md) | +0.5% | +2.0% |
| FCATTLE | 2023-02-03 | [CattleFax Forecasts Producer Profitability in 2023 with Potential Drought Relief for the West](https://feedsoft.ai/events/37485-cattlefax-forecasts-producer-profitability-in-2023-with-potential-drought.md) | +0.5% | +2.2% |

## Sources

- drovers.com: https://www.drovers.com/news/industry/counting-cows-drought-costs-will-drive-further-reductions

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