US Cattle Tally Shows No End in Sight for Soaring Beef Prices

The latest US cattle tally offered little relief for consumers paying record beef prices, even as the cycle of herd liquidation seems to be coming to an end.

There were about 94.2 million cattle and calves in the US as of July 1, the lowest mid-year count on record in data going back to 1973, the Department of Agriculture said in a report. The number of animals placed in feedlots for weight gain before being sent to slaughter plunged to the lowest since 2017, the USDA said in a separate note.