The relatively slow pace of slaughter in the first four months of 2024 contributed to the number of cattle on feed longer than 150 days on May 1 being the highest since May 2012.

Dairy farmers are reaping the benefits of current high prices for dairy-beef crossbred calves thanks to historically lower cattle placements and strong beef demand. It is not unusual for day-old calves to bring $600 to $700 or more, significantly more than full dairy calves.

The 2025 outlook for beef production is forecast at 25.12 billion pounds, a 6% decline from 2024. Next year will mark the third consecutive year of lower production following the record-large volume set in 2022 and will be lowest since 2015, when the sector began to rebuild following the 2009-13 drought.

The latest Cattle on Feed report, published by the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), showed a March 1 feedlot inventory of 11.838 million head, 1% above 11.685 million head in the same month last year.

The January Cattle report noted year-over-year declines in all classes of cattle, with a significant reduction in the number of calves available on Jan. 1 for feedlots, stockers and backgrounders to purchase this year.

The words “financially stressed,” “weary” and “frustrated” paint a less than cheery picture of the current state of the dairy economy heading into 2024 for producers in Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.