All cattle and calves in the United States on July 1, 2021 totaled 101 million head, 1 percent below the 102 million head on July 1, 2020.
All cows and heifers that have calved totaled 40.9 million head, 1 percent below the 41.4 million head on July 1, 2020. Beef cows, at 31.4 million head, down 2 percent from a year ago. Milk cows, at 9.50 million head, up 2 percent from previous year.
All heifers 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2021 totaled 16.0 million head, 1 percent below the 16.2 million head on July 1, 2020. Beef replacement heifers, at 4.30 million head, down 2 percent from a year ago. Milk replacement heifers, at 4.10 million head, up 3 percent from previous year. Other heifers, at 7.60 million head, 3 percent below a year earlier.
Steers 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2021 totaled 14.5 million head, down 1 percent from July 1, 2020. Bulls 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2021 totaled 2.10 million head, unchanged from previous year. Calves under 500 pounds on July 1, 2021 totaled 27.4 million head, down 1 percent from a year earlier.
Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for all feedlots totaled 13.4 million head on July 1, 2021, down 1 percent from previous year. Cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head accounted for 84.3 percent of the total cattle on feed on July 1, 2021, up slightly from previous year.
The total of calves under 500 pounds and other heifers and steers over 500 pounds (outside of feedlots), at 36.1 million head, down 2 percent from the 36.7 million head on July 1, 2020.
Calf Crop Down Slightly
The 2021 calf crop in the United States is expected to be 35.1 million head, down slightly from last year. Calves born during the first half of 2021 are estimated at 25.8 million head, up slightly from the first half of 2020. An additional 9.30 million calves are expected to be born during the second half of 2021.
