The cattle herd lost 1.23 million head over the past year, and 3.6 million since 2022

Data from the first 2025 foot-and-mouth disease vaccination campaign show a decline in Argentina's cattle stock for the third consecutive year, bringing the total below 50 million head. In fact, the number of animals counted was 49.395 million, down by 1.23 million or 2.4% from 2024, and by 3.6 million (a 6.8% decrease) compared to 2022.

This is the lowest figure since 2011, when the combination of anti-livestock policies under Kirchnerist governments and a major drought led to a loss of nearly 10 million animals over two campaigns. The herd then dropped to 48.85 million head from the 58.78 million recorded in 2008.

Argentina has never recovered that level of cattle stock. The closest it came was in 2019, with 55.0 million head. Since 2022, when 52.99 million head were recorded, the decline has intensified year after year, in parallel with an extended drought that spanned nearly three full cycles.

A particularly alarming figure is the drop in the number of cows: in this first 2025 campaign, 20.99 million were recorded, 406,000 fewer than in 2024 and 1.21 million fewer than in 2022.

As for steers, the 2025 count reached 2.57 million head, showing a year-on-year drop of 138,000 or 5.1%. Compared to 2022, the decrease amounts to 389,000 head, or 13.1%.

On a more positive note, the number of male and female calves remained virtually unchanged from last year, totaling 14.54 million in 2025. However, compared to 2022, there was a drop of 667,000 head, or 4.4%.