Financial pressures, drought, and high operating costs have all weighed in on the dropping number of cattle farmers in the United States leading to shrinking cattle inventory. At the start of the year, the USDA reported 86.2 million head of cattle, which was the smallest herd size since 1951.
As cattle inventory shrunk, consumers saw the retail price for beef record highs.
Locally, Chris Gavin, CEO 1970 Holdings shares the cattle producers he works with have remained relatively stable when compared with other industries.
“Actually, over the last 10-20 years, our beef producers have been the most stable and profitable of all the different farmers that we work with, so I’m not sure why we don’t have more cow-calf operations,” says Gavin. “It’s kind of too bad. I think part of this problem might be the declining numbers that we have seen over the years. Think about it, we are the prime beef capital, and we don’t have the numbers like we did 20-30 years ago.”
Gavin spoke as a panelist at the 2026 Fall FS Ag Roundtable, where participants raised concerns about consolidation in the cattle industry and the need for a new, modernized farm bill.
