Phillips County lost 25,000 Breeding Cows and Heifers in 2021

January 1 USDA NASS reports Montana down 90,000 head of cows and heifers that have calved.

The January 1, 2022, report for the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) shows Montana has lost 90,000 head of cows and heifers that have calved since 2021 (https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/h702q636h/pn89f870n/jw828f69f/catl0122.pdf). Locally, by brand inspection, Phillips County has lost 25,000 cows and heifers that have calved. The drought and grasshoppers in 2021 impacts are staggering and the outlook is not much better. In this same report Montana lead the Nation in reduction of all cattle and calves, losing a whopping 10.2% from the previous year.

“I have talked to livestock producers in Livingston and Dillon and conditions there are not much better,” said Marko Manoukian, Phillips County Extension Agent. “Statewide, due to drought the Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service have implemented grazing restrictions. These reductions due to drought range from 25% to 50% from normal permitted AUMs.”

The NASS data is from January 1 but cattle losses statewide could be much more. Producers report per-capita inventories of animals as of February 1 for state taxes. When the taxes are calculated in the spring, the cattle losses could be closer to 200,000 for cows and heifers that have calved, according to Manoukian. The loss of the reproductive part of our beef cow herd in Montana will be felt economically for years to come.

Dry weather pattern has also resulted in dry reservoirs. “Our reservoirs are empty, and the prairie may not stay green long with the moisture received to date,” said Manoukian. Nationally, the inventory of beef cows declined 719,000 head during 2021, with an inventory on January 1 of 30.125 million head, and the lowest beef cow inventory since 2015. If the dry trend continues in the Plain states, more cattle liquidations will continue. Hopefully we receive some additional moisture during the growing season.