United States and Canadian Cattle ISSN: 1949-1859 Released August 26, 2026, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States and Canadian Cattle Inventory Up 1 Percent All cattle and calves in the United States and Canada combined totaled 106 million head on July 1, 2026, up 1 percent from the 106 million head on July 1, 2025. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 42.6 million head, were up slightly from a year ago. All cattle and calves in the United States as of July 1, 2026, totaled 94.2 million head, up slightly from the 94.0 million head on July 1, 2025. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 38.1 million head, were unchanged from a year ago. All cattle and calves in Canada as of July 1, 2026, totaled 12.1 million head, up 3 percent from the 11.7 million head on July 1, 2025. All cows and heifers that have calved, at 4.49 million head, were up 2 percent from a year ago. Cattle and Calf Inventory by Class and Calf Crop - United States and Canada: July 1, 2021-2024 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Class : 2021 : 2022 : 2023 : 2024 1/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 head : Cattle and calves ....................:113,345.0 110,580.0 107,485.0 (NA) : Cows and heifers that have calved ....: 45,356.6 44,243.0 42,924.8 (NA) Beef cows ..........................: 34,876.3 33,871.3 32,559.2 (NA) Milk cows ..........................: 10,480.3 10,371.7 10,365.6 (NA) : All other cattle .....................: 67,988.4 66,337.0 64,560.2 (NA) : Calf crop 2/ .........................: 39,613.3 38,863.3 37,827.9 37,567.1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (NA) Not available. 1/ 2024 United States "Cattle" report not conducted due to reduced funding. 2/ January to December calf crop. Sources: National Agricultural Statistics Service and Livestock and Animal Products Section, Statistics Canada. Cattle and Calf Inventory by Class and Calf Crop - United States and Canada: July 1, 2025 and 2026 [Blank data cells indicate estimation period has not yet begun] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : : : : Percent of Class : 2025 : 2026 : previous year ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------ 1,000 head ----- percent : Cattle and calves .....................: 105,730.0 106,300.0 101 : Cows and heifers that have calved .....: 42,517.6 42,593.1 100 Beef cows ...........................: 32,093.4 31,960.1 100 Milk cows ...........................: 10,424.2 10,633.0 102 : All other cattle ......................: 63,212.4 63,706.9 101 : Calf crop 1/ ..........................: 37,136.2 (X) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (X) Not applicable. 1/ January to December calf crop. Sources: National Agricultural Statistics Service and Livestock and Animal Products Section, Statistics Canada. Cattle and Calf Inventory by Class and Calf Crop - United States: July 1, 2021-2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Class : 2021 : 2022 : 2023 : 2024 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : Cattle and calves ......................:100,700.0 98,300.0 95,400.0 (NA) : Cows and heifers that have calved ......: 40,600.0 39,600.0 38,400.0 (NA) Beef cows ............................: 31,100.0 30,200.0 29,000.0 (NA) Milk cows ............................: 9,500.0 9,400.0 9,400.0 (NA) : Heifers 500 pounds and over ............: 15,800.0 15,400.0 14,900.0 (NA) For beef cow replacement .............: 4,200.0 4,000.0 3,800.0 (NA) For milk cow replacement .............: 3,800.0 3,700.0 3,500.0 (NA) Other heifers ........................: 7,800.0 7,700.0 7,600.0 (NA) : Steers 500 pounds and over .............: 14,600.0 14,300.0 14,000.0 (NA) Bulls 500 pounds and over ..............: 2,000.0 2,000.0 1,900.0 (NA) Calves under 500 pounds ................: 27,700.0 27,000.0 26,200.0 (NA) : Calf crop 2/ ...........................: 35,130.9 34,439.5 33,563.0 33,416.5 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (NA) Not available. 1/ 2024 United States "Cattle" report not conducted due to reduced funding. 2/ January to December calf crop. Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service. Cattle and Calf Inventory by Class and Calf Crop - United States: July 1, 2025 and 2026 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Class : 2025 : 2026 : Percent of : : : previous year ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----- 1,000 head ----- percent : Cattle and calves .....................: 94,000.0 94,200.0 100 : Cows and heifers that have calved .....: 38,100.0 38,100.0 100 Beef Cows ...........................: 28,650.0 28,450.0 99 Milk Cows ...........................: 9,450.0 9,650.0 102 : Heifers 500 pounds and over ...........: 14,600.0 14,700.0 101 For beef cow replacement ............: 3,700.0 3,800.0 103 For milk cow replacement ............: 3,500.0 3,600.0 103 Other heifers .......................: 7,400.0 7,300.0 99 : Steers 500 pounds and over ............: 13,800.0 13,900.0 101 Bulls 500 pounds and over .............: 1,900.0 1,900.0 100 Calves under 500 pounds ...............: 25,600.0 25,600.0 100 : Calf crop 1/ ..........................: 32,995.6 32,500.0 98 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ January to December calf crop. Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service. Cattle and Calf Inventory by Class and Calf Crop - Canada: July 1, 2021-2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Class : 2021 : 2022 : 2023 : 2024 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : Cattle and calves ......................:12,645.0 12,280.0 12,085.0 11,770.0 : Cows and heifers that have calved ......: 4,756.6 4,643.0 4,524.8 4,411.0 Beef cows ............................: 3,776.3 3,671.3 3,559.2 3,440.5 Milk cows ............................: 980.3 971.7 965.6 970.5 : Heifers 1 year and over ................: 1,978.8 1,878.0 1,863.0 1,841.5 For beef cow replacement .............: 671.6 606.8 581.6 588.6 For milk cow replacement .............: 430.0 418.5 410.3 406.5 Other heifers ........................: 877.2 852.7 871.1 846.4 : Steers 1 year and over .................: 1,635.6 1,606.9 1,624.0 1,622.0 Bulls 1 year and over ..................: 223.4 219.3 213.0 204.4 Calves under 1 year ....................: 4,050.6 3,932.8 3,860.2 3,691.1 : Calf crop 1/ ...........................: 4,482.4 4,423.8 4,264.9 4,150.6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ January to December calf crop. Source: Livestock and Animal Products Section, Statistics Canada. Cattle and Calf Inventory by Class and Calf Crop - Canada: July 1, 2025 and 2026 [Blank data cells indicate estimation period has not yet begun] ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Class : 2025 : 2026 : Percent of : : : previous year ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----- 1,000 head ----- percent : Cattle and calves .....................: 11,730.0 12,100.0 103 : Cows and heifers that have calved .....: 4,417.6 4,493.1 102 Beef cows ...........................: 3,443.4 3,510.1 102 Milk cows ...........................: 974.2 983.0 101 : Heifers 1 year and over ...............: 1,819.5 1,888.8 104 For beef cow replacement ............: 599.7 633.6 106 For milk cow replacement ............: 408.6 413.5 101 Other heifers .......................: 811.2 841.7 104 : Steers 1 year and over ................: 1,556.3 1,609.2 103 Bulls 1 year and over .................: 204.5 206.6 101 Calves under 1 year ...................: 3,732.1 3,902.3 105 : Calf crop 1/ ..........................: 4,140.6 (X) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (X) Not applicable. 1/ January to December calf crop. Source: Livestock and Animal Products Section, Statistics Canada. This publication is a result of a joint effort by Statistics Canada and NASS to release the number of cattle and calves by class and calf crop for both countries within one publication. This information was requested by the United States cattle industry to provide producers additional information about potential beef supplies. United States inventory numbers were previously released on July 24, 2026. Canadian inventory numbers were previously released on August 24, 2026. USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service - Estimation Branch Contacts For more information about specific data items, please contact the Estimation Branch staff members below. You can also email inquiries to nass@usda.gov. Anthony Prillaman, Associate Deputy Administrator............................................................................... (202) 720-2127 Darin Jantzi, Section Chief..................................................................................................... (701) 412-5953 Broiler Hatchery, Chicken Hatchery, Eggs, Hogs and Pigs, Layers, Sheep and Goats Jeff Lemmons, Section Chief..................................................................................................... (202) 973-3272 Cattle, Cattle on Feed, Capacity of Refrigerated Warehouses, Cold Storage Fleming Gibson, Section Chief (Acting).......................................................................................... (202) 236-2428 Catfish, Census of Aquaculture, Dairy Products, Livestock Slaughter, Poultry Slaughter, Trout, Turkey Hatchery, Turkey Raised Julie Weber, Section Chief...................................................................................................... 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