Beef Industry Statistics
• Number of farms and ranches specializing in beef cattle: 619,172 (USDA 2012 Ag Census)
• Number of cattle & calf operations: 915,000 (USDA 2012 Ag Census)
• Average herd size: 40 head
• Average producer age: 58.3 (USDA 2012 Ag Census)
• Economic impact: $88.25 billion in farm gate receipts Cattle and Calves (USDA ERS 2014)
• All cattle and calves Jan 1, 2016, 92.0 million head, up 3% from 89.1 million head on Jan 1, 2015. (USDA)
30.3 million beef cows
9.32 million milk cows
39.6 million cows and heifers that calved, up 3% from 38.6 million previous year
2015 calf crop estimated 34.3 million head
Beef replacement heifers 6.29 million head
Top 5 states for all cattle and calves (2015)
1. Texas - 11.7 million
2. Nebraska - 6.45 million
3. Kansas - 6.25 million
4. California - 5.2 million
5. Oklahoma - 4.85 million
Top 5 states for cattle in feedlots with capacity more than 1000 head (as of Jan 1, 2016)
1. Texas - 2.43 million
2. Nebraska - 2.20 million
3. Kansas - 2.09 million
4. Colorado - .870 million
5. Iowa - .620 million
• 10.5 million head cattle on feed (Feedlots w/ 1,000 head or more head; Jan 1, 2016)
• U.S. commercial slaughter total was 28.74 million head (fed steer and heifer & non-fed cow & bull; 2015)
• U.S. beef production (commercial carcass weight) was 23.69 billion pounds. (2015) The total U.S. beef consumed was 24.807 billion pounds. (2015) Average annual U.S. retail Choice beef price in 2015 was $6.29/lb.
• Value of total U.S. beef exports (including variety meat) equaled $6.302 billion down from $7.135 (billion)
• Top export markets for 2015 (in order): Japan, Mexico, Canada, South Korea, Hong Kong, Middle East (U.S. Meat Export Federation)
2015 National Cattlemen Directions Statistics