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Beef Cattle producers are feeling more optimistic. With an El Nino winter forecasted, cattle producers are anticipating a reprieve from multi-year drought conditions. For consecutive years the beef cattle herd has been in decline due to environmental conditions. A March 2023 USDA report shows that since 2022, there has been a 4% decrease in beef cows, 6% decrease in replacement heifers, and 5% decrease in heifers expected to calve this year. According to another published USDA article, the latest cattle inventory peaked in 2019 at 94.8 million and has since plummeted 6% to 89.3 million this year. The rapid decline in beef cattle inventory over the past four years was driven by drought conditions; however Northern states experienced above average rainfall during the 2023 spring and summer months and in the coming months NOAA predicts a wetter-than-average winter in the southeastern United States, allowing calf producers in recovering areas to consider opportunities to rebuild their herd.