Virginia’s beef cow herd at record level
Virginia Farm Bureau
RICHMOND—For the first time ever, more than three-quarters of a million cows are residing in the state. Experts say their record numbers paint a rosy picture for the state’s beef industry.
The latest U.S. Cattle Inventory Report estimates the number of beef cows that have calved in Virginia at 747,000, the highest inventory ever recorded for the commonwealth, and the most since 740,000 head were counted in 1997.
The cow/calf enterprise can be described as cattle operators who own breeding females and bulls and raise the resulting calves to about 600 pounds. Most of Virginia’s feeder cattle are shipped to other states with lower grain costs for the final production phase before being harvested.