2009-2010 beef cattle research in Texas

Abstract

The Texas beef cattle industry continues to remain strong and have a very important impact on the state economy and the lives of its citizens. As of January, 2010 there were 13.3 million cattle in Texas. There were approximately 145,000 Texas cattle producers accounting for 5.1 million beef cows and over 6 million stocker calves operating under widely varying environments and production systems across the state. There were close to 3 million cattle on feed in Texas feedlots on any given day, and packing plants in Texas with processing capacity of approximately 7 million cattle annually. Nationwide, Texas ranks first for numbers of total cattle and calves, beef cows, beef cattle operations, and fed cattle marketed. Texas produces approximately 30% of the beef consumed in the United States. Cash receipts for cattle and calves in Texas for 2010 were $7.4 billion.