Livestock Data · Cattle and herd
Fewer animals, worth more each.
The US herd is the smallest in about 75 years and each head is worth more than it has ever been. When every animal carries more value, every record does too.
HEAD
US cattle and calves on 1 January 2026, the smallest January herd since 1951.
Source · USDA NASS, Cattle · 30 Jan 2026
7YEARS
Consecutive years of beef-cow decline. Tight supply runs into 2027 and 2028.
Source · USDA NASS · DTN · 30 Jan 2026
/CWT
Record price for 750 to 800 lb feeder steers at Oklahoma City, early May 2026. Record highs in spring 2026.
Source · USDA AMS via trade press · May 2026
01Lifetime record
From the birth list to the carcass line.
One record per head, kept from birth or arrival to sale or harvest, with provenance on every fact. Each owner adds to it; nobody starts over.
Fig. 3.1 · Lifetime record, feeder steer
Example dataFeeder steer · Angus cross
EID 840 000 000 000 377
- Born
- Cow-calf herd C-12 · 2 Mar Imported
- Weaning
- 265 kg (584 lb) · 205-day adj. Scanned
- Arrival
- Grade 2 · 291 kg (642 lb) · shrink 3.1% Scanned
- Health
- Vaccinated · 1 treatment · cleared Scanned
- Feeding
- 164 days · ADG 1.68 kg/d (3.70 lb/d) Inferred
- Closeout
- Cost of gain · per-head imported Imported
- Carcass
- Matched by EID · grid result on record Imported
02Herd views
By pen, by group, by status, by outcome.
The same records, read the way each decision needs. Status for the morning walk, pen for the feed call, growth for the nutritionist, outcome for next year's buying.
Simulated herd · 480 head · illustration only
Every animal, by status
- Normal · 411
- Watch · 55
- Check today · 14
03Outcomes back to decisions
Closeouts that point back to the cause.
Carcass data and closeouts are tied to source, sire and arrival grade, with sample-size bands so a single good pen is not read as a trend.
| Data produced | Decision or check it enables |
|---|---|
| Outcome by source, sire and arrival grade, with sample-size bands | Buy from the sources and sires that turn into cattle that live, gain and grade |
| Cost of gain and days on feed per head, stacked on purchase and freight | Know the true cost of each animal, not a pen average |
| Ship-window and grid math per lot | When one more day on feed stops paying, and which grid pays most for this lot |
| Death loss and pulls by arrival grade and source | Price arrival risk into the next purchase |
| Completeness rate: share of head with a full record, by cause | Data quality becomes a work queue, not a year-end surprise |
04Time budgets and nutrition
How each animal spends her day.
With the Mule tag in pilot, rumination, eating and resting patterns per animal become something you and your nutritionist can act on. Ration changes can be compared against an untreated group on your own farm.
01
Her normal
02
Ration trials
03
Heat load
04
Breeding windows
05Integrations
Around the software you already run.
| Connection | What moves | Status |
|---|---|---|
| File exports (CSV, Excel) | Animals, events, weights, treatments, in your layout | Built per project |
| Documents read onto animals | Birth lists, closeouts, settlements, matched by EID | Built per project |
| USDA market reports | Feeder and fed cattle prices for valuation | Built per project |
| Accounting exports | Per-head cost and revenue lines | Built per project |
| Common herd management systems | Two-way animal and event sync | Planned |
3.25MHEAD
Wisconsin cattle, 1.285M milk cows.
Source · USDA NASS · 1 Jan 2026
1.12MHEAD
Michigan cattle, 460K milk cows.
Source · USDA NASS · 1 Jan 2026
1.23MHEAD
Ohio cattle, as many beef cows as dairy cows.
Source · USDA NASS · 1 Jan 2026
FAQ
Questions
Which operations is this for?
Dairies, cow-calf, stocker and backgrounding operations, and feedlots. The record is the same animal record in each; the views and reports change with the decisions each operation makes.
Can carcass data come back to the individual animal?
Where the packer settlement carries an ID that can be matched, yes, with the match method shown. Where it only reports by lot, the result is kept by lot and the animal-level field shows as a gap.
Do you integrate with our herd management software?
Integrations with common herd systems are planned and built per project. Today Mule reads exports and documents onto each animal and writes back in the layout you already use. Tell us which system you run.
What about cost of gain and closeouts we already get from the feedyard?
They are imported onto the animals they cover. The difference is that cost and outcome from earlier owners stack on the same record, so the profit you see is calf to rail, not only the feedyard's share.
Does it need a connection in the barn or at the chute?
No. Chute-side and pen-side apps work offline and sync when back in range.
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