Just about everyone in the beef business expected the USDA Cattle Inventory report, released this afternoon, to show that restocking was well underway in 2014. The surprise may be in just how aggressive cattle producers have answered the bell to put more hooves in their pastures.

Thje report shows all cattle and calves in the United States as of Jan. 1, 2015 at 89.8 million, 1% higher than the 88.5 million reported a year ago. But the big numbers came from the breakdown showing trends in beef cattle.

There, the report pegs beef cows, at 29.7 million, up 2% from last January’s report. And perhaps the most compelling figure in the report is beef replacement heifers at 5.8 million, up 4% from last year atr this time.

However, Mother Nature still holds all the aces and whether or not it rains, how much it rains, where it rains and when it rains will ultimately determine how many of those heifers remain in the cow herd and have a calf and how many will make an early departure to the feedyard. There, only time will tell.

Here’s the complete breakdown:

Other class estimates on Jan. 1, 2015 and the change from Jan. 1, 2014, are as follows:

To read the entire report, go to http://www.nass.usda.gov/

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