February 4, 2008

Missouri cattle inventory fall 3 percent on January

On January 1, all cattle and calf inventory in Missouri totaled 4.3 million head, down 150,000 head from the previous year's estimate.

The shortfall was caused by extreme dry conditions and escalating feed and fuel costs which prompted farmers to scale back and allow cattle prices to recover, Gene Danekas, director of Missouri Agricultural Statistics, said.

Missouri's beef cow numbers decreased during 2007 and totaled 2.08 million head as of January 1, 2008. Compared to last year, beef cow numbers were down 66,000 head or 3.1 percent from the 2007 estimate. Milk cows decreased 4,000 head from last year to 110,000 head.

The 2007 calf crop was estimated at 2.03 million head, up slightly from the revised 2006 calf crop of 2 million head.