Any Herd Expansion from Heifers?

Jan 28, 2026

By David Anderson

USDA’s Cattle on Feed Report, released on Friday, January 23^rd, contained the estimated number of heifers on feed. The breakout of steers and heifers on feed is released quarterly. Many have been looking closely at this statistic for evidence of a significant herd expansion starting.

Heifers on feed totaled 4.435 million head, down 140,000 head, or 3.1 percent, from last January 1. The number of steers on feed also declined by 3.2 percent. Heifers represented 38.73 percent of the total cattle on feed, hardly different from last year’s 38.70 percent. It was the fewest January 1 heifers on feed since 2019. Arizona, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Texas had fewer heifers on feed, with Colorado having the largest decline of 85,000 head, followed by Texas, down 55,000 head. The decline in the heifers on feed in those states is interesting in that those states would have been most impacted by the border closure with Mexico. Other states either reported no change or, in the case of Nebraska, 10,000 more heifers on feed.

Spayed heifers imported from Mexico contribute to the total number of heifers on feed. The January Cattle on Feed report is the first full month of comparison to a year ago, with no cattle imports in December 2025 and 2024. Approximately 145,000 fewer spayed heifers were imported from Mexico in the months leading up to January 1, 2026, compared to January 1, 2025. So, the decline in heifers on feed could largely reflect fewer imports rather than a significant decline in domestic heifer feeders being placed.

While the decline in heifers on feed suggests some heifers held for herd rebuilding, the reduction in supplies from Mexico and heifers as a percent of all cattle on feed indicates little herd rebuilding from additional domestic heifer retention, yet. It is likely that the inventory report released on the 30^th should indicate more heifers held for beef cow replacement.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.