heifers

As cattle prices soar, dairy farms are keeping older cows longer, reshaping their operations and impacting the availability of replacement heifers.

Last week brought some interesting twists on the cattle front in Moses Lake—let’s just say the numbers tell a story of their own.

May's USDA Cattle On Feed report shows total inventory was up 2% from May 2025. However that uptick was fueled, in part, by April’s 6% year-over-year jump.

The beef forecast for 2026 is looking a bit slimmer, but what does that mean for our favorite local meals? Let’s dive into the details.

The U.S. dairy industry is facing a possible shortage of its most important resource – milk cows.

Following the success of last year’s effort, the Idaho Cattle Association’s Heifer of the Year contest has returned for 2025.

USDA’s April Cattle on Feed Report showed the herd size remains smaller year-over-year, but indicates efforts continue to build up inventory.   “The number of cattle on feed and feed lots on April 1st was 11.64 million ahead. This was about ...

All cattle and calves in the U.S. and Canada combined totaled 97.6 million head on January 1st.  That’s down 1% from the 98.2 million head reported one year ago.   All cows and heifers that have calved inventory was 41.6 million head, down...

According to the USDA’s most recent cattle report, there are fewer heifers on the farm.  The report shows the number of heifers has dropped year after year, as dairy operations pivot to breeding dairy cows to native beef bulls in an effort to capitalize on record beef prices.  And it looks like ...

All cattle and calves in the United States as of January 1st totaled 86.7 million head, 1% below the 87.2 million head reported on January 1st, 2024.  All cows and heifers that have calved at 37.2 million head were slightly below the 37.4 mi...