Beef Herd Rebuild Unlikely Amid Strong Production Levels

NDSU Extension Livestock Economist Tim Petry says there are numerous reasons a herd rebuild isn’t likely any time soon. “We’ve been going down six straight years now on beef cow numbers. The last couple of years, we’ve been below the low point of the previous cycle back in 2014 when cow cattle prices were at a record high at that time. So, no surprise that we have higher prices now than we did back in 2014 because we’ve got fewer cattle.” Lower replacement heifer numbers is also a factor. “We aren’t going to be able to restock very quickly because we don’t simply have the replacement efforts to rebuild very quickly even if weather conditions are allowed.”