At the 2025 Range Beef Cow Symposium, held in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Jay Parsons with the University of Nebraska – Lincoln (UNL) facilitated a panel discussion focused on rebuilding the cow herd.

Early indicators and predictions show that the beef industry is slowly considering rebuilding the herd. Fewer heifers are being placed on feed and many producers’ current stocking rates are so low that they have nowhere to go but up in numbers.

Recent record prices paid for fed cattle, feeder cattle, and cull cows and bulls have a lot of industry folks talking and thinking we are at the bottom of the “10-year cattle cycle” and that we could see expansion in the future.

For those who see the opportunity to expand, if they use their data and invest where they get the biggest return, they stand the highest chance of success. Will the beef cow herd continue to shrink, or will we see some expansion? Only time will tell.

The majority of U.S. milk production comes from dairy farms with 500 cows or more. However, that doesn’t mean those who milk fewer cows can’t find a way to be profitable, successful dairy farming businesses.