Beef, '97, Part Iv: Changes In The U.S. Beef Cow-Calf Industry, 1993-1997

Section 1 of this report shows demographic changes of the U.S. beef cow-calf industry from a historical perspective from data provided by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) and Census of Agriculture. Results of two NAHMS national studies in Section II complete the overview of change in the U.S. beef cow-calf industry during the 5-year period from 1993 to 1997. NAHMS, CHAPA Phase I included data collected from 2,539 cow-calf operations in the 48 continental states via telephone during the fall of 1992. Subsequent data collection was done on operations in 18 states and from producers with five or more beef cows and 50 percent or more of their calf crop born between January 1 and June 30 (spring calving) The 18 states represented 70 percent of the U.S. beef industry. Beef ,97s 2,713 producers from a 23-state target population represented 85.7 percent of U.S. beef cows on January 1, 1997, and 77.6 percent of U.S. beef operations. NASS enumerators collected data for this report via a questionnaire administered on-farm from December 30, 1996, through February 3, 1997. This report provides national estimates of animal health and management practices for comparable populations from both studies. Contact For This Paper: David Dargatz