E-mail: nass-ny@nass.usda.gov
(518) 457-5570

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Contact:  Bryan Combs
Monday, February 2, 2009

www.nass.usda.gov/ny

                    NEW YORK CATTLE INVENTORY DECREASES

New York cattle and calves totaled 1.38 million on January 1, 2009,
according to Stephen Ropel, Director of USDA’s National Agricultural
Statistics Service, New York Field Office.  All cattle and calves were 4
percent below the January 1 total of the pervious year.

Milk cows, which comprise 42 percent of the total cattle in New York,
numbered 625,000 head, down slightly from January of the previous year.
New York remained third in the US in number of dairy cows behind California
with 1.85 million and Wisconsin with 1.26 million.  Milk cow replacement
heifers were down 4 percent from a year earlier.

Beef cows totaled 85,000 head, down 18 percent from a year ago.  Beef cow
replacement heifers totaled 28,000 head, down 6,000 head from a year
earlier.  Other heifers and steers weighing 500 pounds or more, which are
normally on feed for slaughter, were down 22 percent to 77,000 head.  Bulls
weighing 500 pounds or more were down 12 percent at 15,000 head.  The 2008
New York calf crop totaled 500,000 head, up 4 percent from 2007.

All cattle and calves in the United States as of January 1, 2009, totaled
94.5 million head, 2 percent below the 96.0 million on January 1, 2008.
All cows and heifers that have calved, at 41.0 million, were down 2 percent
from the 41.7 million on January 1, 2008.

Beef cows, at 31.7 million, were down 2 percent from January 1, 2008.  Milk
cows, at 9.33 million, were up 1 percent from January 1, 2008.  The 2008
calf crop was estimated at 36.1 million head, down 2 percent from 2007.
Calves born during the first half of the year are estimated at 26.3
million, down 1 percent from 2007.  The information in this release is
available by free email subscription by subscribing to New York reports at
www.nass.usda.gov/ny.

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2-2-09