Note that the data published in the 2002 State of the Nation’s Ecosystems Report as well as the 2003 and 2005 Web-Only Updates have been superseded by the 2008 Report and thus should be used with caution. For the most recent data, purchase the 2008 Report from Island Press.

The Indicator

This indicator reports on the U.S. cattle and calf inventory not in confined operations as of July of each year. It is assumed these cattle are grazing on grasslands and shrublands (including pasture) because they are not confined. Note that cattle will spend some time during the summer months in woodlands or forests if they are available; it is uncertain how this complication would affect the data reported here.

The Data

Data Source: Data presented here are from the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). NASS conducts annual surveys of livestock herd sizes during January and July.

The figure in the text, “90% of beef cattle graze on grasslands and shrublands” is from NASS Annual Agricultural Statistics Reports. http://www.usda.gov/nass/pubs/agstats.htm. Data on 10-year cattle cycles were from http://ag.arizona.edu/arec/wemc/cattlemarket/CatlCycl.pdf and http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/nassr/livestock/pct-bb/specat01.pdf. Data pertaining to the historic peak in cattle production during the mid 1970’s were provided in the Rocky Mountain Research Station online publication, RMRS-GTR-68: Mitchell, John E. 2000. Rangeland resource trends in the United States: A technical document supporting the 2000 USDAForest Service RPA Assessment. at http://www.fs.fed.us/rm/pubs/rmrs_gtr68.html.

Data Manipulation:Direct estimates of the number of cattle grazing on grasslands, shrublands, and pastures are not available, thus this number was approximated by subtracting estimates of cattle not grazed from total cattle numbers for July 1 of every year. Total cattle (“all cattle”) numbers include grazing and non-grazing: cows that have calved, bulls, heifers, steers, and calves. (Note that most calves have not weaned by July; however, increased forage consumption by lactating cows compensates for this apparent overcounting of animals). We estimate the number of non-grazing cattle by summing the following categories: cattle on feed (“cattle on feed”), milk cows (“cows that have calved—milk”), and heifers for milk replacement (“heifers 500+ lbs.—milk replacement”). Cattle on feed includes steers, heifers, calves, and some cows, that are generally confined to feedlots where they are fed grain, silage, hay, and/or protein supplements to yield higher grade meat. Estimates for milk cows and heifers for milk cow replacement, include cows and heifers (over 500 pounds) typically—but not universally—confined for the production of milk. Note that our estimate of non-grazing cattle is not perfect; it includes some cattle of feed, milk cows, and heifers for milk replacement that may graze on grasslands and shrublands, and pasture; and excludes calves confined for veal production, because estimates of their numbers are not known.

In winter, some cattle are placed on croplands to consume plant products and seeds left behind. More important, the quantity and quality (digestibility and amount of protein) of grass plants decline substantially in winter, so the forage supply on grasslands and shrublands is inadequate. Thus, in many parts of the country, ranchers must feed hay to cattle in winter.

Data Caveats/Quality: It is known that cattle will spend some time during the summer months in woodlands and forests. The effect that this caveat might have on the indicator is unknown.

Another caveat involves the fact that the indicator reports the number of cattle rather than the weight of cattle. The average weight of cattle may change over time, so the same herd size may involve more or fewer pounds of livestock. If such changes occur, this indicator may over- or under-represent the production of livestock.

Data Access: These data are available at http://www.nass.usda.gov/index.asp. This site allows the user to retrieve selected data for selected years from the NASS database. U.S. and state data for total cattle (“cattle all”), cattle on feed (“cattle on feed”), milk cows (“cows that have calved—milk”) and heifers for milk replacement (“heifers 500+ lbs.—milk replacement”) for July 1 are available under “Quick Stats” on this page. These data were accessed most recently January 4, 2006.

Data from the July inventory are available for a longer time series than is presented here, but comparable data on cattle on feed are not. In addition, data from the January inventory are available for both the total inventory and cattle on feed. However, these data are not believed to represent cattle on grasslands and shrublands, and thus are inappropriate for this indicator.

Data on the value of the U.S. cattle inventory are from NASS, 2000 Agricultural Statistics (www.usda.gov/nass/pubs/agr00/00_ch7.pdf).

Data on longer term trends in cattle inventory are from the NASS database Web site noted above. The January cattle inventory was inspected for the period from 1960 to 2000 and showed a high of 132 million in 1975. As noted, this inventory is not comparable to the July inventory, and can be used only to suggest long-term trends in cattle herd size.

2003 Web Site Update: Data for 2001 and 2002 were obtained from the NASS web site, as listed under “Data Access.”

2005 Web Site Update: Data for 2003 and 2004 were obtained from the NASS web site as listed under "Data Access".