While the latest U.S. Cattle on Feed report shows total inventory in U.S. feedlots with capacity for 1,000 or more head 1 percent higher on Jan. 1, 2015 compared to last year, total inventory of heifers was down 2 percent during that time, according to Drovers CattleNetwork.
On Jan. 1, the report indicated 6.94 of the 10.7 million head were steers and steer calves, a 2 percent increase from 2014. Steers accounted for 65 percent of total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves, meanwhile, totaled 3.67 million head, down from 3.73 in 2014.
This decline is an indication that beef producers are retaining more heifers for breeding purposes rather than sending them to feedyards.
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