# 2020 Cattle Inventory—Herd Expansion Comes to an End - ProAg

> The USDA January 1 cattle inventory shows total cattle and calves at 94.4 million head, down slightly from a year earlier, with beef cows down about 1% at 31.3 million. Replacement heifers fell, signaling producers have stopped expanding the herd.

- Date: 2020-02-04 · published 2020-02-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/54543-2020-cattle-inventory-herd-expansion-comes-to-an-end-proag
- 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

A flat-to-shrinking beef herd tightens future beef supply and supports higher cattle prices later, while the cattle sector's feed demand for corn, DDGS and meal is also affected.

## Read by commodity

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

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2020-02-25 | [CattleFax: Expansion plateaus and demand grows into 2020 - Progressive Cattle \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/54714-cattlefax-expansion-plateaus-and-demand-grows-into-2020-progressive-cattle-ag.md) | -5.0% | -10.7% |
| 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 | 2024-02-16 | [Tight Supplies Expected to Boost Cattle and Hog Prices in 2024](https://feedsoft.ai/events/31615-tight-supplies-expected-to-boost-cattle-and-hog-prices-in-2024.md) | -0.2% | +2.1% |
| LCATTLE | 2019-01-01 | [Beef Herd Expansion Near End?](https://feedsoft.ai/events/61037-beef-herd-expansion-near-end.md) | +0.2% | +1.0% |
| FCATTLE | 2020-02-25 | [CattleFax: Expansion plateaus and demand grows into 2020 - Progressive Cattle \| Ag Proud](https://feedsoft.ai/events/54714-cattlefax-expansion-plateaus-and-demand-grows-into-2020-progressive-cattle-ag.md) | -1.7% | -7.9% |
| 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% |

## Sources

- proag.com: https://www.proag.com/news/2020-cattle-inventory-herd-expansion-comes-to-an-end/

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