Cattle in Virginia

Angus cattle grazing in Louisa County, south of Lake Anna

Cows in Virginia come in two kinds - meat and dairy. In 2020, there were 1.45 million cattle in Virginia:¹

- Beef cows that have calved: 626,000

- Milk cows that have calved: 74,000

- Heifers 500 pounds and over for beef cow replacement: 93,000

- Heifers 500 pounds and over for dairy cow replacement: 33,000

- Heifers 500 pounds (other): 64,000

- Steers 500 pounds and over: 165,000

- Bulls 500 pounds and over: 40,000

- Calves under 500 pounds: 355,000

dairy farmers sent milk to market every day via cans
Source: Library of Congress, Untitled photo, possibly related to: Farm near Warrenton, Virginia (by Marion Post Wolcott, February 1940)

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic occurred as milk demand was declining and dairy farms were closing. Closure of restaurants and other food-service establishments almost eliminated 40% of the market, and panic buying in grocery stores did not offset the loss.

In the previous two years, 100 dairy farms in Virginia had closed, and only 450 remained. The shift in demand was too quick for fresh milk producers to shift to production of yogurt, cheese, and other more-lasting products. One farmer noted how the supply chain would be slow to adapt to the abrupt disruption of the market, and how that would impact prices for fresh milk:²

Until processors change their packaging or what they’ve been processing to meet the grocery demand versus the restaurants and school demand, there’s still going to be low prices.

meat rations for Union soldiers in the Civil War were marched behind the armies
Source: Library of Congress, Army beef swimming the Occoquan River, Virginia (by Alfred R. Waud, 1863)

in a heavily-grazed field, even the trees can show evidence of hungry cattle

Links

• Milk/Dairy:
  • 4-H Virtual Farm - Dairy
  • Virginia Dairy Farms
  • Dairy Cow Breeds
  • the origins of the Holstein breed
  • Holstein Association
  • Holstein World magazine
  • WWW Virtual Library for Dairy Production
  • American Guernsey Association (there are two Virginia members in the directory - down from three in 1999. Think this is the most popular Virginia breed for milk production?)
  • Dairy Policy Issues, January 18, 2000, from the Congressional Research Service
• Beef:
  • Virginia Angus Association
  • Hereford heritage (bred for beef originally in Herefordshire, England)
  • Beef Today magazine

enslaved workers helped drive herds of cattle to market
Source: Slavery Images: A Visual Record of the African Slave Trade and Slave Life in the Early African Diaspora, The Droves

References