Beef Cow Population to Redistribute in Years to Come

Beef Cow Population to Redistribute in Years to Come

The beef cow population in the United States is expected to grow by over three million head in the next three to five years. The economic signals for building/rebuilding the herd are clear, and in the next four to six years, the location of the U.S. cow herd is going to look considerably different than it did before the 2011 drought, according to a new report from the Rabobank Food & Agribusiness (FAR) Research and Advisory group. Rabobank Analyst Don Close shares more
Close: “We’re looking for U.S. cow numbers to rebuild 3 to 4 million head range over the next four to six years. With that growth, the distribution of those cows will be considerably different than it has ever been in the past. We are looking for more concentration of beef cows through the center of the U.S. — from the Southwest region up through the Plain states and into the Corn Belt. That could leave the cow herd more venerable to weather variations than we have had with a broad distribution of cows across the country.”
Close adds that it will happen in two phases and that the excess capacity in the southwest and high plains will fill out first. Once that area has repopulated he said that the next phase of rebuilding will occur in the central U.S. – mainly the Dakotas and into the Corn Belt.
Previous ReportBeef Industry Intern Application Open Now
Next ReportCaring Cowboys Charity Event