The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) is reinstating the July Cattle report, as well as County Estimates for Crops and Livestock. The county estimate reinstatement is effective for the 2024 crop season for the row crops (corn, cotton, peanuts, rice, sorghum, soybeans) and for the 2025 crop season for the small grain crops (barley, oats, wheat).
Following are scheduled release dates:
- County Estimates – corn, sorghum, soybeans: May 6
- County Estimates – cotton: May 12
- County Estimates – cattle: May 13
- County Estimates – rice, peanuts: May 23
- July Cattle: July 25
The full calendar of NASS reports is available at nass.usda.gov/Publications.
The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) thanked the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Agricultural Statistics Services’ (USDA-NASS) for reinstating the July Cattle Report and the County Estimates for Crops and Livestock. These reports were discontinued last year but have provided critical data to farmers and ranchers for years.
“The return of the July Cattle Report and County Estimates is a big win for cattle producers who utilize these reports to efficiently run their operations and make important marketing decisions. These reports are not costly to produce and the amount they are used by the U.S. agriculture sector make them extremely cost-effective,” said NCBA Executive Director of Government Affairs Tanner Beymer. “NCBA thanks USDA-NASS for bringing back these vital reports and continuing to deliver timely, accurate, and useful statistics that bring transparency to livestock markets across the country.”
American Farm Bureau Federation President Zippy Duvall also commented on USDA’s decision to resume publication of its July Cattle and County Estimates for Crops and Livestock reports.
“Both the July Cattle Report and County Estimates reports are crucial tools for farmers and ranchers to understand their markets and make business decisions. We’re grateful USDA made the correct call to restore these reports, after input from AFBF and many other agricultural organizations.
“As we said in a letter to USDA last spring, the July Cattle Report is a tentpole of cattle market transparency, and the County Estimates report is used to build vital crop insurance products. Congress appropriated the funds to produce these reports, underscoring just how important they are. We look forward to the release of the first edition in early May.”
“We encourage NASS to consider resuming the Cotton Objective Yield Survey as well,” Duvall said. “Cotton farmers have faced several years of challenges with prices well below break-even. While the County Estimates will certainly provide some additional useful information, there will be a gap during the pivotal summer and fall growing months.”
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USDA/NCBA/AFBF
