State / Industry Facts

Sources: 2008 Nebraska Cattlemen, Nebraska Agricultural Statistics, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, United States Department of Agriculture-Census of Agriculture

Nebraska Facts

• $12.1 billion impact to Nebraska's Economy

• 20,000 beef cow operations

• 1.88 million head of beef cows

• The average herd size is 94 head

• 4,570 cattle feeding operations statewide

• 5.1 million cattle fed and marketed per year

• On average there are 2.3 million head of cattle on feed

• Only 770 feeding operations are larger than 1,000 head

U.S. Facts

• 757,300 beef cow operations

• 32.6 million head of beef cows

• The average herd size is 43 head

• 87,160 cattle feeding operations

• 26.2 million cattle fed and marketed per year

• 14.3 million head of cattle on feed

• The average cattle feeding operation cares for approximately 290 head

• Cattle and calves total 41% of the $99 billion worth of U.S. livestock and poultry sold

• Individual or family, family held corporations, and partnerships make up 99% of the U.S. farm ownership

Where Nebraska Stacks up Nationally

1st.... Commercial red meat production, 2009 - 7,171,500,000   Commercial cattle slaughter, 2009 - 6,772,700 head    Commercial cattle slaughter, 2009, live weight - 9,113,088,000

2nd....All Cattle and calves, Jan. 1, 2010 - 6,250,000 head  All cattle on feed, Jan. 1, 2010 - 2,500,000 head

Nothing Beats Lean Beef

Lean beef is naturally nutrient rich, which means beef provides a power pack of nutrition with minimal calories.

Beef provides 38% of the Daily Value of zinc; chicken provides just 6%. Zinc keeps you going strong by helping maintain a healthy immune system.

Beef is one of the best sources of iron in the food supply. Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional deficiency in the United States. Incorporating lean beef into your diet can help combat the deficiencies.

To absorb the same amount of iron found in a 3-ounce serving of beef, you’d have to eat nearly 3 chicken breasts or 2 3/4 cups of spinach.

Nearly half the fat in beef is monounsaturated, the same heart-healthy fat found in olive oil.

A third of beef’s saturated fat is stearic acid, a unique saturated fat that has a neutral effect on blood cholesterol levels.

Conjugated Linoleic Acid - more commonly known as CLA - is a type of fatty acid found naturally in red meat that has been shown to inhibit several types of cancer in animal studies.

The Nebraska Beef Cattle Industry

Its the state’s single largest industry and the engine that powers the state’s economy. The multiplied impact of the $6.5 billion in cattle sales each year is $12.1 billion. Cattle-related employment means income for businesses up and down main street in towns and cities across the state. In short, the beef cattle industry has an unmistakable impact on other economies in Nebraska.

Nebraska is Unique

The importance of cattle feeding to Nebraska’s economy runs deeper than in other states. Nearly 5 million head are finished and marketed in Nebraska, a state with a population of 1.7 million residents. Texas markets a third more cattle than Nebraska, but it has a population of 20.1 million residents is nearly 12 times larger. Iowa markets less than 2 million cattle and has 1.1 million more residents than Nebraska. This means such states depend on other industries. Their standard of living isn’t nearly as dependent on cattle feeding as Nebraska’s.

Nebraska has the Top Cow Counties in the Nation

Nebraska has the top three beef cow counties in the U.S., including the nation’s No. 1 cow county – Cherry County, with nearly 166,000 cows. Custer County is No. 2 (100,000) and Holt County is No. 3 (99,000). Also among the top counties in the nation is Lincoln County at No. 12 (69,000).

Four Times as many Cattle as People

January 2006 figures illustrate that Nebraska continues to have far more cattle than people. Cattle outnumber Nebraskans nearly 4 to 1. Cows number 1.94 million, versus Nebraska residents who number just 1.7 million. The cows and the 4.7 million head that are annually fed in Nebraska total nearly 6.64 million cattle.

Why so much Beef in Nebraska?

Nebraska has a unique mix of natural resources. Cattle turn grass from 24 million acres of rangeland and pasture, more than one half of Nebraska’s land mass, into protein and many other products for humans. The land grazed by cattle allows more people to be fed than would otherwise be possible. More than one billion bushels of corn are produced here each year, 40% of which is fed to livestock in the state. Cattle producing families, who make their living from the land, have a strong incentive to protect their animals and the environment.

The Power of Protein

Beef is considered a “complete protein” because it contains all the essential amino acids the human body needs. Protein provides stamina by building and maintaining strong muscles. A constant supply of protein is needed by the body to repair cells and regulate body processes. Eating a 3 ounce serving of beef provides your body with 51% of the recommended protein needs.

The Skinny on Beef

Many cuts of beef are 20% leaner, on average, than they were 15 years ago. In fact, there are 29 cuts of beef that fall within the federal guidelines to be designated as “lean.” Most lean cuts have the word loin or round in the name (e.g. beef sirloin, or beef top round steak). Seventeen of the top 20 most popular retail whole muscle cuts are lean.

Nebraska Ag Facts

• Cash receipts from farm marketings contributed nearly $17 billion to Nebraska's economy in 2008 and 5% of the United States total.
• Nebraska's ten leading commodities (in order of importance) for cash receipts are cattle and calves, corn, soybeans, hogs, wheat, chicken eggs, dairy products, hay, dry beans and sorghum grain, which represent 98% of the state's total farm receipts.
• Every dollar in ag exports generates $1.40 in economic activities such as transportation, financing, warehousing and production. Nebraska’s $5.9 billion in ag exports translate into nearly $8.3 billion in additional economic activity.
• Nebraska has 47,400 farms and ranches; the average operation consists of 962 acres (389 hectares); average net income per farm was $65,279 during the 2004-2008 period.
• In 2009, Nebraska ranked second in ethanol production capacity, with 23 operating plants having production capacity of 1.8 billion gallons (6,813,739,982 liters). Over 40% of the state's 2008 corn crop was utilized in ethanol production. 
• The Nebraska livestock industry accounted for 48% of the state's total agricultural cash receipts in 2008.  Livestock or poultry operations were found on 50% of Nebraska farms. 
• One American farmer/rancher produces enough food for 129 people – 95 in the United States and 34 abroad.
• In 2005, Nebraska was 9th nationally in certified organic cropland acres (77,820 acres/31,493 hectares) and 10th in certified organic pasture acres (17,655 acres/7,145 hectares).

Nebraska’s Natural Resources

• Nebraska’s farms and ranches utilize 45.6 million acres (18,413,270 hectares) – 93% of the state’s total land area.
• Nebraska is fortunate to have aquifers below it. If poured over the surface of the state, the water in those aquifers would have a depth of 37.9 feet (12 meters). The state has 92,233 registered, active irrigation wells supplying water to 8.5 million acres (3,439,841 hectares) of harvested cropland and pasture. Of the total cropland harvested during 2007, 46% was irrigated.
• Nearly 24,000 miles (38,624 kilometers) of rivers and streams add to Nebraska’s bountiful natural resources.
• There are nearly 23 million acres (9,307,807 hectares) of rangeland and pastureland in Nebraska – half of which are in the Sandhills.