LAKEWOOD, COLO. – The National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), a branch of the US Department of Agriculture, recently announced that it would survey 1,700 cattle operations in Arizona, Colorado, Montana, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming during July.

The agency said its looking to provide up-to-date US cattle inventory.

“This information helps producers make timely, informed business decisions and plan for herd expansion or reduction,” said Bill Meyer, director of the Mountain Regional field office for NASS. “It also helps packers and government leaders evaluate expected slaughter volume for future months and determine potential supplies for export. Obtaining the current count of cattle will serve as an important decision-making tool for the entire agriculture industry.”

Throughout the first two weeks of July, Mountain Regional producers can report beef and dairy cattle inventories, calf crop, death loss and cattle on feed information. NASS will compile, analyze and publish survey results in the Cattle report on July 22, 2022.