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Texas
4,300,000
Oklahoma
1,981,000
Missouri
1,945,000
Nebraska
1,703,000
South Dakota
1,533,000
Kansas
1,315,000
Montana
1,270,000
Kentucky
895,000
Florida
888,000
North Dakota
876,000
Arkansas
866,000
Iowa
860,000
Tennessee
844,000
Alabama
678,000
Wyoming
671,000
California
665,000
Colorado
642,000
Virginia
563,000
Oregon
507,000
Georgia
478,000
Idaho
449,000
Mississippi
449,000
New Mexico
446,000
Louisiana
437,000
Minnesota
360,000
Illinois
341,000
North Carolina
341,000
Utah
318,000
Ohio
290,000
Wisconsin
280,000
Nevada
232,000
Washington
221,000
Pennsylvania
195,000
West Virginia
191,000
Arizona
175,000
Indiana
173,000
South Carolina
159,000
New York
100,000
Michigan
98,000
Hawaii
82,400
Maryland
40,000
Vermont
14,000
Maine
11,000
New Jersey
8,900
Alaska
7,800
Massachusetts
7,500
Connecticut
4,500
New Hampshire
4,500
Delaware
1,200
Rhode Island
1,100

Beef Production by State [Updated April 2023]

Beef Production by State [Updated April 2023]

The United States is the world's largest producer of beef, primarily high-quality, grain-fed beef. Beef farms and ranches represent over 30% of U.S. farms, making up the single largest U.S. agricultural sector. The U.S. beef industry is roughly divided into two sectors: cow-calf operations and cattle feeding. The focus of the cow-calf operation is to maintain a herd of beef cattle to raise calves. The cattle feeding sector focuses on preparing cattle for various means of production. Beef cattle are raised in all 50 U.S. states. As of 2023, there are 28,917,900 beef cows in the United States. This is down from one year ago. Texas has the most beef cows, followed by Oklahoma, Missouri, and Nebraska.

Number of Beef Cows by State

The number of cattle in every state is a good indicator of how much beef each state produces. Seven states have over 1 million beef cows in 2023. The ten states with the highest number of beef cows are:

  1. Texas - 4,300,000
  2. Oklahoma - 1,981,000
  3. Missouri - 1,945,000
  4. Nebraska - 1,703,000
  5. South Dakota - 1,533,000
  6. Kansas - 1,315,000
  7. Montana - 1,270,000
  8. Kentucky - 895,000
  9. Florida - 888,000
  10. North Dakota - 876,000

Together, these states have 16,706,000 beef cows, comprising 57.7% of the United States’ total beef cows. This means that the remaining 40 states make up 42.3%.

Rhode Island has the fewest cows with 1,100, followed by Delaware with 1,200, and New Hampshire with 4,500. Connecticut, Massachusetts, Alaska, and New Jersey all have fewer than 10,000 cows. Together, these seven states have only 35,500 beef cows and account for just 0.12% of the country's total cows.

Here are the 10 states with the most cows:

  1. Texas - 4,300,000
  2. Oklahoma - 1,981,000
  3. Missouri - 1,945,000
  4. Nebraska - 1,703,000
  5. South Dakota - 1,533,000
  6. Kansas - 1,315,000
  7. Montana - 1,270,000
  8. Kentucky - 895,000
  9. Florida - 888,000
  10. North Dakota - 876,000

Beef Production by State [Updated April 2023]

Beef Production by State [Updated April 2023]

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Beef Production by State [Updated April 2023]

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