Source: USDA, 1/30/15

As of January 1, there were 89.8 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms, according to the Cattle report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). This is the first increase in U.S. herd inventory since 2007.

Other key findings in the report were:
• There are 29.7 million beef cows in the United States as of January 1, 2015. This is up 2 percent from last year.
• The number of milk cows in the United States increased to 9.3 million. 
• U.S. calf crop was estimated at 33.9 million head, up 1 percent from 2013. 
• Of the 89.8 million cattle and calves, 39.0 million were all cows and heifers that have calved.
• All cattle on feed increased to 13.1 million, up 1 percent from 2014.

To obtain an accurate measurement of the current state of the U.S. cattle industry, NASS surveyed more than 38,200 operators across the nation during the first half of January. NASS interviewers collected the data by mail, telephone, internet, and through face-to-face personal interviews. NASS asked all participating producers to report their cattle inventories as of January 1, 2015.
The semiannual Cattle report and all other NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov.