Beef Production by State

Map

Table

Introduction

The world’s largest producer of high-quality beef is the United States. As of 2022, beef farms made up more than 30% of all farms in the United States. The best measure for which state has the highest production of beef is the number of cows produced by each state. 

According to the United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”), the United States herd of cattle is about 98.8 million heads; however, this is about a 2% decrease from 2021. Despite this, the USDA found cattle production to be the largest share of cash receipts for agricultural commodities in 2021, worth about $391 billion. 

The federal government has limited assistance for beef production, it only offers emergency measures approved for a specific and limited scope and time frame. What counts as emergencies are typically : loss from disease, infestation, flood, hurricane, fire, severe storms, extreme heat and cold, and other natural disasters. Farmers, though, are lobbying Congress to reinvigorate the assistance for beef/cattle production.

Learn for yourself how beef production changes by state by looking at the data in the charts.

#StateNumber of CowsReplacement Heifer Beef Cow
1Texas4,475,000720,000
2Oklahoma2,131,000410,000
3Missouri1,941,000310,000
4Nebraska1,832,000370,000
5South Dakota1,610,000375,000
6Kansas1,422,000280,000
7Montana1,299,000330,000
8Kentucky966,000125,000
9North Dakota945,000192,000
10Iowa925,000160,000
11Arkansas905,000145,000
12Florida895,000130,000
13Tennessee893,000120,000
14Wyoming681,000145,000
15California680,000125,000
16Alabama677,000108,000
17Colorado638,000135,000
18Virginia599,00089,000
19Oregon505,000100,000
20Idaho498,000100,000
21Georgia487,000100,000
22Mississippi478,00091,000
23New Mexico453,00070,000
24Louisiana451,00080,000
25North Carolina366,00062,000
26Minnesota360,00085,000
27Illinois339,00060,000
28Utah331,00070,000
29Ohio312,00070,000
30Wisconsin295,00090,000
31Nevada244,00038,000
32Washington224,00055,000
33Pennsylvania190,00051,000
34West Virginia188,00030,000
35Indiana184,00035,000
36Arizona171,00025,000
37South Carolina158,00029,000
38New York100,00040,000
39Michigan96,00023,000
40Hawaii79,20011,000
41Maryland42,0009,000
42Vermont15,0004,500
43Maine10,0004,000
44Massachusetts8,0003,000
45Alaska7,8001,500
46New Jersey7,8001,500
47Connecticut4,5002,000
48New Hampshire4,0001,200
49Delaware1,700600
50Rhode Island1,100200

Number of Cows by State

Alabama

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Number of Cows

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677,000

Ranked in the US

#16

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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108,000

Ranked in the US

#17

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Alaska

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Number of Cows

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7,800

Ranked in the US

#45

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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1,500

Ranked in the US

#46

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Arizona

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Number of Cows

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171,000

Ranked in the US

#36

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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25,000

Ranked in the US

#38

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Arkansas

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Number of Cows

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905,000

Ranked in the US

#11

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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145,000

Ranked in the US

#10

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

California

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Number of Cows

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680,000

Ranked in the US

#15

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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125,000

Ranked in the US

#14

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Colorado

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Number of Cows

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638,000

Ranked in the US

#17

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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135,000

Ranked in the US

#12

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Connecticut

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Number of Cows

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4,500

Ranked in the US

#47

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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2,000

Ranked in the US

#45

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Delaware

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Number of Cows

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1,700

Ranked in the US

#49

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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600

Ranked in the US

#49

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Florida

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Number of Cows

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895,000

Ranked in the US

#12

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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130,000

Ranked in the US

#13

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Georgia

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Number of Cows

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487,000

Ranked in the US

#21

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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100,000

Ranked in the US

#18

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Hawaii

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Number of Cows

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79,200

Ranked in the US

#40

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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11,000

Ranked in the US

#40

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Idaho

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Number of Cows

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498,000

Ranked in the US

#20

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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100,000

Ranked in the US

#19

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Illinois

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Number of Cows

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339,000

Ranked in the US

#27

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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60,000

Ranked in the US

#30

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Indiana

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Number of Cows

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184,000

Ranked in the US

#35

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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35,000

Ranked in the US

#35

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Iowa

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Number of Cows

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925,000

Ranked in the US

#10

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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160,000

Ranked in the US

#9

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Kansas

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Number of Cows

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1,422,000

Ranked in the US

#6

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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280,000

Ranked in the US

#7

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Kentucky

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Number of Cows

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966,000

Ranked in the US

#8

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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125,000

Ranked in the US

#15

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Louisiana

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Number of Cows

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451,000

Ranked in the US

#24

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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80,000

Ranked in the US

#25

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Maine

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Number of Cows

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10,000

Ranked in the US

#43

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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4,000

Ranked in the US

#43

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Maryland

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Number of Cows

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42,000

Ranked in the US

#41

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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9,000

Ranked in the US

#41

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Massachusetts

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Number of Cows

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8,000

Ranked in the US

#44

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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3,000

Ranked in the US

#44

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Michigan

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Number of Cows

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96,000

Ranked in the US

#39

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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23,000

Ranked in the US

#39

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Minnesota

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Number of Cows

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360,000

Ranked in the US

#26

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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85,000

Ranked in the US

#24

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Mississippi

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Number of Cows

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478,000

Ranked in the US

#22

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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91,000

Ranked in the US

#21

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Missouri

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Number of Cows

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1,941,000

Ranked in the US

#3

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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310,000

Ranked in the US

#6

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Montana

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Number of Cows

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1,299,000

Ranked in the US

#7

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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330,000

Ranked in the US

#5

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Nebraska

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Number of Cows

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1,832,000

Ranked in the US

#4

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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370,000

Ranked in the US

#4

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Nevada

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Number of Cows

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244,000

Ranked in the US

#31

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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38,000

Ranked in the US

#34

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

New Hampshire

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Number of Cows

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4,000

Ranked in the US

#48

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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1,200

Ranked in the US

#48

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

New Jersey

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Number of Cows

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7,800

Ranked in the US

#46

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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1,500

Ranked in the US

#47

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

New Mexico

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Number of Cows

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453,000

Ranked in the US

#23

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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70,000

Ranked in the US

#26

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

New York

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add_circle

Number of Cows

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100,000

Ranked in the US

#38

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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40,000

Ranked in the US

#33

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

North Carolina

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Number of Cows

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366,000

Ranked in the US

#25

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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62,000

Ranked in the US

#29

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

North Dakota

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Number of Cows

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945,000

Ranked in the US

#9

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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192,000

Ranked in the US

#8

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Ohio

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Number of Cows

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312,000

Ranked in the US

#29

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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70,000

Ranked in the US

#27

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Oklahoma

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Number of Cows

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2,131,000

Ranked in the US

#2

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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410,000

Ranked in the US

#2

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Oregon

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Number of Cows

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505,000

Ranked in the US

#19

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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100,000

Ranked in the US

#20

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Pennsylvania

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Number of Cows

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190,000

Ranked in the US

#33

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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51,000

Ranked in the US

#32

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Rhode Island

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Number of Cows

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1,100

Ranked in the US

#50

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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200

Ranked in the US

#50

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

South Carolina

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Number of Cows

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158,000

Ranked in the US

#37

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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29,000

Ranked in the US

#37

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

South Dakota

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Number of Cows

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1,610,000

Ranked in the US

#5

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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375,000

Ranked in the US

#3

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Tennessee

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Number of Cows

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893,000

Ranked in the US

#13

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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120,000

Ranked in the US

#16

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Texas

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Number of Cows

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4,475,000

Ranked in the US

#1

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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720,000

Ranked in the US

#1

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Utah

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Number of Cows

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331,000

Ranked in the US

#28

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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70,000

Ranked in the US

#28

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Vermont

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Number of Cows

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15,000

Ranked in the US

#42

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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4,500

Ranked in the US

#42

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Virginia

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Number of Cows

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599,000

Ranked in the US

#18

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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89,000

Ranked in the US

#23

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Washington

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Number of Cows

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224,000

Ranked in the US

#32

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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55,000

Ranked in the US

#31

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

West Virginia

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Number of Cows

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188,000

Ranked in the US

#34

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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30,000

Ranked in the US

#36

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Wisconsin

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Number of Cows

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295,000

Ranked in the US

#30

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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90,000

Ranked in the US

#22

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

Wyoming

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Number of Cows

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681,000

Ranked in the US

#14

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow

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145,000

Ranked in the US

#11

Number of Cows

Replacement Heifer Beef Cow