Dive Summary:

• The amount of cattle used for beef in July has decreased by 2.1 percent from the previous year, according to a study conducted by a coalition of players in the agricultural and livestock industry.
• The slight decrease was attributed by fewer young cows being introduced into herds as well as increased levels of slaughter.
• While there are fewer cows in herds used for beef, there is a 0.5 percent increase in dairy cows.

From the article:

...Recent estimates made by a consortium of analysts, agricultural economists and cattle-industry participants for the size of the U.S. beef cattle herd as of midyear range from down by nearly 1% to more than 2% below a year ago. ...