This article outlines the economic outcomes of alternative breeding strategies that combine sexed, beef and conventional semen. Using both short-term decision support tools and long-term simulation models, we explored how reproductive performance and semen use strategies interact to shape profitability on dairy farms.

Starting in late July and throughout August, weekly cattle slaughter slowed seasonally but to levels that were the lowest since 2015. Adjusting for one fewer slaughter days in 2025, August saw a 10% decline in cattle slaughter, the largest year-over-year decline for any month in 2025.

On July 25, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its biannual Cattle report. The previous July edition of the report was released in 2023, as the July Cattle report was not conducted in 2024. According to the report, on July 1, 2025, all cattle and calves were estimated at 94.2 million head, down 1.2 million head, or 1.3%, from July 1, 2023.

On June 30, 2025, the USDA announced a plan to implement a phased reopening of the southern border ports for the import of live cattle from Mexico, beginning with the border crossing at Douglas, Arizona, on July 7. However, on July 9, Mexico announced it had detected New World screwworm in Veracruz – 160 miles north of the current sterile fly dispersal grid.

Compared to last month, minor adjustments are made to the 2025 and 2026 production forecasts, with no major changes to industry fundamentals. The changes center on updates from current slaughter data, reducing expected cow slaughter, temporal changes to fed cattle marketings and lifting anticipated carcass weights.

On May 11, the USDA announced that it will close U.S. ports of entry along the southern border, effective immediately, to imports of live cattle, horses and bison due to the continued and rapid northward spread of New World screwworm (NWS) in Mexico.

Overall, the 2025 beef production forecast is raised fractionally from last month’s projection by 15 million pounds to 26.7 billion pounds. Compared to last month’s forecast, fewer steers and heifers are expected to be processed this year, but that decline is more than offset by an adjusted outlook for cow and bull slaughter and for heavier carcass weights in each quarter.