Fewer Cattle, Costlier Beef: Twenty Years of the U.S. Beef Industry and What It Means in San Joaquin County

The United States started 2026 with 86.2 million cattle and calves, the smallest herd since 1951. Ground beef averaged $6.92 a pound nationally in August. Beef imports are at a record, and two of the four companies that slaughter most of the country's cattle are controlled from Brazil. This report walks through how the industry got here over the last twenty years, from the ranch to the grocery store, and then looks at what those national trends mean for cattle producers, dairies and shoppers in San Joaquin County.