# US beef cow herd declines
						 | The Cattle Site

> USDA's January 1 Cattle Inventory report showed the US beef cow herd down 719,000 head from a year ago. Large declines were seen in South Dakota, Texas, Missouri and Montana, and the 2021 calf crop fell 1.2% to 35 million head.

- Date: 2022-02-22 · published 2022-02-22T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/42850-us-beef-cow-herd-declines-the-cattle-site
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

A shrinking beef cow herd and smaller calf crop point to tighter beef and feeder supplies in coming years, which supports cattle prices. The report surprised slightly to the downside on breeding herd numbers.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: bullish ▲
- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2025-07-28 | [US cattle futures rise on record-low herd, tight supply - CME
						 \| The Beef Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23895-us-cattle-futures-rise-on-record-low-herd-tight-supply-cme-the-beef-site.md) | +1.1% | +3.8% |
| LCATTLE | 2021-07-27 | [Fed cattle show strength, beef supply declines – Delco Times](https://feedsoft.ai/events/46240-fed-cattle-show-strength-beef-supply-declines-delco-times.md) | -0.2% | +3.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2023-02-03 | [The US Cowherd Now Has the Fewest Beef Cows Ever](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10214-the-us-cowherd-now-has-the-fewest-beef-cows-ever.md) | +1.3% | +4.1% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-04-01 | [US cattle prices raised on firm demand - USDA
						 \| The Cattle Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/30874-us-cattle-prices-raised-on-firm-demand-usda-the-cattle-site.md) | -2.2% | -1.9% |
| LCATTLE | 2021-03-12 | [Weekly beef and dairy digest: cattle herds increase across the globe
						 \| The Cattle Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/48054-weekly-beef-and-dairy-digest-cattle-herds-increase-across-the-globe-the-cattle.md) | +0.0% | +4.0% |
| FCATTLE | 2025-07-28 | [US cattle futures rise on record-low herd, tight supply - CME
						 \| The Beef Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23895-us-cattle-futures-rise-on-record-low-herd-tight-supply-cme-the-beef-site.md) | +1.0% | +8.7% |
| FCATTLE | 2021-07-27 | [Fed cattle show strength, beef supply declines – Delco Times](https://feedsoft.ai/events/46240-fed-cattle-show-strength-beef-supply-declines-delco-times.md) | -2.4% | -2.5% |
| FCATTLE | 2023-02-03 | [The US Cowherd Now Has the Fewest Beef Cows Ever](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10214-the-us-cowherd-now-has-the-fewest-beef-cows-ever.md) | +0.5% | +2.2% |

## Sources

- thecattlesite.com: https://www.thecattlesite.com/news/58108/us-beef-cow-herd-declines

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