Will the U.S. beef cow inventory continue to increase or have prices and weather played enough of a role this past year to cause ranchers to rethink herd expansion? How much of an effect will the Texas beef cow herd have on the total United States inventory?
The best way to get the answer to these questions is through the results that will come from the Jan. 1 Cattle Inventory Survey that the USDA will conduct during the first two weeks of January 2017.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (USDA NASS) will survey about 40,000 cattle operations nationwide to provide an up-to-date measure of the U.S. cattle inventory.
In Texas, NASS will contact more than 2,500 operations to request their responses to the survey.
“This information helps producers make timely, informed business decisions and plan for herd expansion or reduction. It also helps packers and government leaders evaluate expected slaughter volume for future months and determine potential supplies for export,” said Southern Plains Region Director Wilbert Hundl Jr.
Texas ranchers will have the opportunity to report their beef and dairy cattle inventories, calf crop, death loss and cattle on feed information.
To make it as easy as possible for ranchers to participate in the survey, NASS offers the option of responding via the Internet, telephone, mail or a personal interview with a local NASS representative. Most ranchers who have been selected for the survey should see the survey appear in their mailbox around Dec. 23, 2016.
NASS safeguards the privacy of all responses and publishes only state and national-level data in aggregate, ensuring that no individual producer or operation can be identified.
The January Cattle Report will be released on Jan. 31, 2017. This and all NASS reports are available online at www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.php.
For more information, call the NASS Southern Plains Regional Field Office at 1-800-626-3142.