By Dr. Kenny Burdine
Changes in beef cow inventory are driven by two factors – how many new bred heifers enter the herd each year and how many cows exit the herd through culling and death loss. As is always the case when calf prices are high, a lot of discussion has been focused on heifer retention thus far in 2025.
Heifers as a percentage of on-feed inventory has been decreasing, but not at a rate that suggests widespread retention. I would expect heifer retention to increase for the rest of 2025 if calf prices stay high and weather cooperates. However, it is important to remember that there is a time lag between heifer retention and the associated impact on the size of the cow herd.
A heifer calf born in the spring of 2025 would likely not have her first calf until spring of 2027 and would not wean that first calf until that fall. The point here being that heifer retention in the second half of 2025 most likely impacts the size of the cow herd in 2027, not 2026.
Source : osu.edu