Important Takeaways:

• US Cattle Herd Shrinks to 73-Year-Low in Blow for Beef Lovers
• The US cattle herd shrank to the lowest level in more than seven decades as ranchers continue to send their cows to slaughter, threatening to keep beef prices at stubbornly high levels for consumers for at least another couple of years while eroding profits for meat processors.
• There were 87.2 million cattle as of January 1, down about 2% from a year ago and less than anticipated by analysts surveyed by Bloomberg, the US Department of Agriculture said Wednesday in its biannual cattle-inventory report. That’s the smallest animal count since 1951, according to USDA data.
• American ranchers have for the past four years been culling more cows than they were retaining for breeding because of persistent droughts, surging feed costs and elevated interest rates… herds aren’t expected to start rebounding before at least 2026, said Lane Broadbent, president of KIS Futures Inc. in Oklahoma City.

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