Texas is America’s top beef cow state, yet only one Texas county makes the top-25 list of America’s leading beef cow counties. Click here to see the top 25 counties, and an analysis of the numbers.
The 2017 Census of Agriculture was released April 11. While the lag between collecting and reporting the information seems like a long time, the breadth and depth of information is substantial.
U.S. feedlots with more than 500 cattle on feed increased in numbers 12% during the five year period between 2012 and 2017, according to the 2017 Census of Agriculture.
NASS reports in the 2017 Census of Agriculture that 36% of U.S. farms have beef cows, with the average herd size 43.5 head. Smaller operations, however, are declining.
The 2017 Census of Agriculture found a 3% decline in the total number of farms in the U.S., and that since the 1997 Ag Census the decline has been 7.8%.