ARIZONA 

The January 1, 2021 inventory of all cattle and calves in Arizona totaled 980,000 head, up 2 percent from the January 1, 2020 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 194,000 head, were unchanged from the previous year. Milk cows were unchanged from last year at 196,000 head. Arizona’s 2020 calf crop, at 305,000 head, is up 2 percent from 2019. 

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2021 and percent changes from 2020 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 25,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, up 4 percent to 120,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 15,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, up 4 percent to 285,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 20,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, up 4 percent to 125,000 head. The total inventory included 265,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, up 4 percent from last year. 

COLORADO 

The January 1, 2021 inventory of all cattle and calves in Colorado totaled 2.65 million head, down 4 percent from the January 1, 2020 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 659,000 head, were down 112,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows increased 12,000 head from last year to 201,000 head. Colorado’s 2020 calf crop, at 790,000 head, is down 4 percent from 2019. 

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2021 and percent changes from 2020 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 16 percent to 130,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, up 4 percent to 120,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 570,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, up 4 percent to 810,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, down 10 percent to 45,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, down 4 percent to 115,000 head. The total inventory included 1.14 million head of cattle and calves on feed, up 2 percent from last year. 

MONTANA 

The January 1, 2021 inventory of all cattle and calves in Montana totaled 2.45 million head, down 2 percent from the January 1, 2020 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 1.42 million head, were down 9,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows decreased 1,000 head from last year to 11,000 head. Montana’s 2020 calf crop, at 1.39 million head, is down 2 percent from 2019. 

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2021 and percent changes from 2020 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 3 percent to 380,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 20 percent to 4,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, down 10 percent to 206,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, down 2 percent to 245,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, down 5 percent to 100,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, up 6 percent to 85,000 head. The total inventory included 53,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, up 6 percent from last year. 

NEW MEXICO 

The January 1, 2021 inventory of all cattle and calves in New Mexico totaled 1.39 million head, down 3 percent from the January 1, 2020 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 463,000 head, were down 17,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows increased 7,000 head from last year to 337,000 head. New Mexico’s 2020 calf crop, at 610,000 head, is down 2 percent from 2019. 

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2021 and percent changes from 2020 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 6 percent to 75,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 4 percent to 135,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, down 13 percent to 70,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, down 10 percent to 90,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 30,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, unchanged at 190,000 head 

UTAH 

The January 1, 2021 inventory of all cattle and calves in Utah totaled 800,000 head, down 2 percent from the January 1, 2020 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 345,000 head, were down 13,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows decreased 2,000 head from last year to 95,000 head. Utah’s 2020 calf crop, at 385,000 head, is down 3 percent from 2019. 

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2021 and percent changes from 2020 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 12 percent to 75,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, up 10 percent to 55,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, down 8 percent to 55,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, up 6 percent to 85,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 25,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, unchanged at 65,000 head. The total inventory included 23,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, up 15 percent from last year. 

WYOMING 

The January 1, 2021 inventory of all cattle and calves in Wyoming totaled 1.30 million head, down 2 percent from the January 1, 2020 inventory, according to the January 1 Cattle Survey conducted by the Mountain Regional Field Office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, USDA. Beef cows, at 702,000 head, were down 22,000 head from the previous year. Milk cows increased 2,000 head from last year to 8,000 head. Wyoming’s 2020 calf crop, at 660,000 head, is down 1 percent from 2019. 

Other class estimates as of January 1, 2021 and percent changes from 2020 were as follows: Beef replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, down 3 percent to 155,000 head; milk replacement heifers 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 4,000 head; other heifers 500 pounds and over, unchanged at 126,000 head; steers 500 pounds and over, up 10 percent to 170,000 head; bulls 500 pounds and over, down 11 percent to 40,000 head; and calves under 500 pounds, down 5 percent to 95,000 head. The total inventory included 74,000 head of cattle and calves on feed, up 6 percent from last year. 

UNITED STATES 

All cattle and calves in the United States as of January 1, 2021 totaled 93.6 million head, slightly below the 93.8 million head on January 1, 2020. 

All cows and heifers that have calved, at 40.6 million head, were slightly below the 40.7 million head on January 1, 2020. Beef cows, at 31.2 million head, were down 1 percent from a year ago. Milk cows, at 9.44 million head, were up 1 percent from the previous year. 

All heifers 500 pounds and over as of January 1, 2021 totaled 20.0 million head, slightly below the 20.0 million head on January 1, 2020. Beef replacement heifers, at 5.81 million head, were up slightly from a year ago. Milk replacement heifers, at 4.60 million head, were down 2 percent from the previous year. Other heifers, at 9.58 million head, were 1 percent above a year earlier. 

Steers weighing 500 pounds and over as of January 1, 2021 totaled 16.6 million head, up slightly from January 1, 2020. Bulls weighing 500 pounds and over as of January 1, 2021 totaled 2.21 million head, down 1 percent from January 1, 2020. Calves under 500 pounds as of January 1, 2021 totaled 14.2 million head, down 1 percent from January 1, 2020. 

Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for all feedlots totaled 14.7 million head on January 1, 2021. The inventory is up slightly from the January 1, 2020 total of 14.7 million head. Cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head accounted for 81.4 percent of the total cattle on feed on January 1, 2021, down slightly from the previous year. The combined total of calves under 500 pounds and other heifers and steers over 500 pounds (outside of feedlots) at 25.7 million head, was slightly below January 1, 2020. 

The 2020 calf crop in the United States was estimated at 35.1 million head, down 1 percent from the previous year's calf crop. Calves born during the first half of 2020 were estimated at 25.8 million head, down 1 percent from the first half of 2019. Calves born during the second half of 2020 were estimated at 9.39 million head, 27 percent of the total 2020 calf crop. 

All inventory and calf crop estimates for July 1, 2019, January 1, 2020, and July 1, 2020 were reviewed using calf crop, official slaughter, import and export data, and the relationship of new survey information to the prior surveys. Based on the findings of this review, July 1, 2019 all cattle and calves decreased by 0.3 percent. January 1, 2020 all cattle and calves decreased by 0.7 percent and 2019 calf crop decreased by 1.3 percent. July 1, 2020 all cattle and calves decreased by 0.8 percent and 2020 calf crop decreased by 1.9 percent. State level estimates were reviewed and changes were made to reallocate inventory estimates to the United States total.