United States Cattle Inventory Up Slightly

(Washington, D.C., July 24, 2026) - There were 94.2 million head of cattle and calves on U.S. farms as of July 1, 2026, according to the Cattle report published today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).

Other key findings in the report were:

• Of the 94.2 million head inventory, all cows and heifers that have calved totaled 38.1 million.
• There are 28.5 million beef cows in the United States as of July 1, 2026, down 1% from last year.
• The number of milk cows in the United States increased to 9.65 million.
• U.S. calf crop was estimated at 32.5 million head, down 2% from 2025.
• All cattle on feed were at 13.2 million head, up 2% from 2025.

To obtain an accurate measurement of the current state of the U.S. cattle industry, NASS surveyed over 17,400 operators across the nation during the first half of July. Surveyed producers were asked to report their cattle inventories as of July 1, 2026, and calf crop for the entire year of 2026 by internet, mail, or telephone.

The Cattle report and all other NASS reports are available online at nass.usda.gov/publications.

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NASS is the federal statistical agency responsible for producing official data about U.S. agriculture and is committed to providing timely, accurate and useful statistics in service to U.S. agriculture.

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