# Few surprises in the USDA cattle reports | AGDAILY

> The USDA July Cattle inventory put total cattle and calves at 103 million head, slightly above last year. Beef cows were down 1% at 32.1 million while milk cows rose, and heifer retention was mixed relative to expectations.

- Date: 2020-07-29 · published 2020-07-29T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/52056-few-surprises-in-the-usda-cattle-reports-agdaily
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md), [Milk (Class III)](https://feedsoft.ai/c/MILK.md)

## Why it matters

A herd roughly steady with little expansion suggests limited near-term supply growth, supporting cattle prices while beef cow numbers keep declining.

## Read by commodity

- MILK: neutral
- FCATTLE: bullish ▲
- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2021-01-22 | [CME update: live cattle futures surge ahead of USDA Cattle on Feed report
						 \| The Beef Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/49286-cme-update-live-cattle-futures-surge-ahead-of-usda-cattle-on-feed-report-the.md) | +0.7% | +2.4% |
| LCATTLE | 2025-08-26 | [Review of the August Cattle on Feed Report - Southeast AgNET](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23480-review-of-the-august-cattle-on-feed-report-southeast-agnet.md) | +0.2% | -2.0% |
| 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 | 2020-06-18 | [CME update: cattle futures mixed as traders await USDA report
						 \| The Beef Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/52752-cme-update-cattle-futures-mixed-as-traders-await-usda-report-the-beef-site.md) | -3.4% | -0.8% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-10-23 | [Cattle Ticking Higher Ahead of USDA Report](https://feedsoft.ai/events/590-cattle-ticking-higher-ahead-of-usda-report.md) | +0.1% | — |
| FCATTLE | 2024-11-26 | [USDA Reports Rising Cattle Feedlot Placements](https://feedsoft.ai/events/27556-usda-reports-rising-cattle-feedlot-placements.md) | +1.5% | +0.1% |
| FCATTLE | 2021-01-22 | [CME update: live cattle futures surge ahead of USDA Cattle on Feed report
						 \| The Beef Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/49286-cme-update-live-cattle-futures-surge-ahead-of-usda-cattle-on-feed-report-the.md) | -0.1% | +2.4% |
| FCATTLE | 2025-08-26 | [Review of the August Cattle on Feed Report - Southeast AgNET](https://feedsoft.ai/events/23480-review-of-the-august-cattle-on-feed-report-southeast-agnet.md) | +0.9% | +1.1% |

## Sources

- agdaily.com: https://www.agdaily.com/livestock/surprises-usda-cattle-prices/

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