Beef herd numbers grow slightly amid record prices
CATTLE PRICES ARE expected to remain strong in 2025 and beyond as the nation’s beef herd remains relatively static compared to last year. Photo courtesy of Sam Craft/Texas A&M AgriLife
The Texas beef cattle herd grew slightly since January 2024, but the overall U.S. herd remains near its lowest numbers since 1961.
The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture beef cattle inventory survey showed the U.S. herd had shrunk another 0.6% to 27.68 million head.
Texas’ beef cattle herd grew by 60,000 head to 4.02 million over last year, according to the USDA report.
