Slow, Slow Expansion Happening in the Cattle Herd

According to CattleFax Chief Executive Officer Randy Blach, fed cattle supplies remain tight. “We’ve got more hooks than we have cattle to fill those hooks. And we see that not only at the fed cattle level, but we see it at the non-fed level as well,” said Blach. “Non-fed cow and bull slaughter has declined significantly, as you would expect. We’re stabilizing the herd from a lack of harvest of the cows; we’re seeing very gradual, slow, slow, slow expansion, but it does look like, when we look back, January of 2025 will be the low end of the beef herd.” While supplies are tight, Blach said the prices seen today in the cattle market are market-driven. Blach was part of the U.S. Meat Export Federation spring conference in Fort Worth, Texas.