USDA’s semi-annual cattle report will be issued on Friday. The outlook calls for the cattle herd to be 86.4 million head, down from 86.7 million head last January, making it the seventh consecutive decline since 2019 and putting the cattle herd down 2 percent from the previous low point in 2014.

In July, USDA released its first estimate of the 2025 calf crop based on spring calving results, at 33.1 million head—down 429,000 head, or 1.3 percent, from the previous year. Current estimates would put it at 33.3 million head, still down about 230,000 head, or 0.7 percent, year over year. The liquidation that occurred from 2021 through 2023 has resulted in a younger, and potentially healthier, herd. With calves as valuable as they ha...