The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has reported the US cattle herd as of July 2025 as being the lowest on record since 1973.

The department confirmed that the national cattle herd has fallen to 94.2 million head.

The USDA added that the number of animals in feedlots for weight gain before being sent to processing plunged to its lowest level since 2017.

Reports suggest many ranchers slashed herd numbers after long periods of drought across the US burnt up grazing pastures.

The department's report underlined how the herd size was down just under 2% its last July cattle inventory report in 2023, despite record beef prices for the 2025 season.

USDA reported that 11.1 million cattle and calves were being fed in advance for the slaughter market in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 on July 1, 2025, accounting for 62% of the total inventory.

Of this, steers and steer calves accounted for 6.88 million, a 1% increase from the previous year.

Meanwhile, heifers and heifer calves were down 5% on 2024 figures at a total figure of 4.24 million head, according to the report

Placements in feedlots - which include heifers and steers being fed for slaughter - totalled 1.44 million head in June, an 8% drop from 2024.

There was 320,000 placements weighing less than 600 pounds (272kg);
235,000 head weighing between 600-699 pounds (272-317kg);
315,000 head weighing between 700-799 pounds (317-362kg);
326,000 head weighed between 800-899 pounds (362-407kg);
165,000 head weighing between 900-999 pounds (407-453kg);
80,000 head weighing over 1,000 pounds (453 kg).

1.71 million heifers and steers were sent to slaughter from feedlots during June, which is 4% below the same time period in 2024.

These heifers and steers - referred to as 'marketings' in the US - recorded the lowest June figures since the series began in 1996.

In the category 'other disappearance' - which includes death, movements from feedlots, etc. - figures were down 7% to a total of 53,000 head during June.

Overall trends are showing a steady drop in cattle on feed, which is in line with seasonal markets. However, numbers are still dramatically down each month in comparison to previous years.

Seperately, In Ireland, the Central Statistics Office (CSO), announced earlier this year that cattle numbers in Ireland decreased by 2.2% between 2023 and 2024, a fall of 158,300 cattle.

Meanwhile, Eurostat published figures in June, showing a 2.8% decrease in cattle across Europe with total bovines falling to 72 million across the continent.