The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the latest Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report with conflicting numbers on heifer retention.
The report notes that the July 1 cattle-inventory report showed little or no increase in replacement heifer inventories for either beef or dairy herds over those of two years ago, on July 1, 2012. The numbers could indicate ranchers have not yet begun moving toward an expansion phase, in contrast with widespread assumptions that this year’s improved forage conditions and record-high calf prices would trigger more heifer retention, reports Drovers CattleNetwork.
No report was completed in 2013 due to government sequestration, which temporarily suspended spending on government programs. Comparisons with two years ago could mask some recent trends due to seasonal shirts in populations of various classes of cattle or due to late-summer and fall culling of open cows.
This year’s Cattle on Feed report shows a modest increase in the number of heifers going back into breeding herds rather than shipping to the feedyard. It is expected that the January 2015 report will show a small increase in replacement-heifer numbers.