Industry Stats
Get to the meat of Washington's beef industry with some facts, figures and quick information.
WAshington Beef Industry Information:
What is the economic impact of the Washington beef industry?
Although the beef industry is widely recognized as an important agricultural commodity, few studies exist evaluating its economic importance. The 2024 Contribution of the Washington Beef Sector to the Washington Economy, research conducted by Dr. Shannon Nieburgs of Washington State University, quantifies the impact of beef production on the Washington state economy. Major study findings include:
- Washington cattle production inventories based on the most current USDA reports from 2024 were 223,000 calves produced, 431,000 finished feedlot steers and heifers and 1,043,000 head of cattle processed for beef.
- From 2020 through 2024, Washington's beef cow herd size decreased 8 percent compared to 11 percent nationally and Washington has lower year to year variability in beef cow inventory compared to major beef producing states.
- The total
economic contribution of the beef industry to Washington is $5.85 billion annually.
- Washington's beef industry generated $3.12 billion dollars in direct sales through it's cow-calf, feedyard and processing sectors combined, in 2024.
- Indirect and induced impact of Washington's beef industry produced an additional $2.71 billion in economic activity by businesses supporting the needs of the cattle industry across rural Washington.
- The total value added by the cattle industry to Washington's GDP is $2.08 billion dollars. The cattle industry's high use of in-state inputs, such as farm-produced feed and byproduct feedstuffs, and high use of labor generates $4.35 of state GDP for each dollar directly contributed to by the cattle industry.
A Family Affair
There are approximately 7,600 cattle owners in Washington. On average, these families have been operating their ranches for 47 years, some for over 100 years. Ranches in Washington are diverse in size and can be found in all 39 counties. Of the approximately 7,600 ranches and farms, about 4,600 have less than ten head of cattle. Only 78 ranches have over 500 head, but represent about 48% of the beef cattle inventory.
Washington’s beef cow inventory peaked in 1984 at 436,000 cows and has declined to 223,000 cows in 2024. During that timeframe Washington’s beef herd has declined at a much higher rate than the rest of the U.S. According to USDA data over the same time frame, the U.S. herd peaked at 39.229 million head in 1982 and declined to 28 million head in 2024. This represents a 29% decline from peak to current for the U.S. beef herd. Comparatively Washington’s decline from peak to current is down 48%, a little more than double the rate of decline of the U.S. herd level. However, Washington’s beef cow herd inventory has been growing since 2015 from 198,000 to 223,000 beef cows in 2024, representing a recent inventory growth of about 12%. But big or small, it's a family tradition.
Beef Community JObs
Washington's beef community directly supplies about 6,414 local jobs. Because farms and ranches need supplies and services from local companies, and their owners and employees are all local, the total employment resulting from the industry is 17,172 jobs. The beef processing sector employs the most people, with 10,577 full-time jobs.
Pen riders check cattle health each day at the feedyard on horseback. These employees monitor thousands of cattle each day. Inexperienced pen riders are matched up with an experienced rider, to be trained and gain experience reading the signs of sick and healthy cattle. Employee retention at the feedyard is a key to managing cattle health effectively and efficiently.
Cattle Feedyards in Washington
There are approximately 21 cattle feedyards in Washington, ranging in size. The dry, mild environment of southeastern Washington, and the close proximity to agricultural byproducts and crops make it a great location for cattle feeding. The number of cattle feedyards has decreased, while the size of ranches has increased to gain efficiency and economies of scale.
The largest feedyards are located in close proximity to the two major beef processing facilities in southeastern Washington. Because of this, cattle do not have to be transported far from the feedyard, which improves animal welfare and beef quality by limiting stress. Washington's cattle feeding sector produced 431,000 finished steers and heifers in 2024 that made their way to our local processing facilities, accounting for almost half of the 1,043,000 total processed cattle in 2024.
what cattle eat
Washington is an incredibly diverse state for agriculture. But most of the 300-and-some-odd crops we grow have a season, a limit to where and when they grow. Not beef cattle. Our state's relatively mild climate is hospitable to raising healthy cattle year-round. And the availability of local forage and feed options for cattle is optimized when animal nutrition scientists use their expertise to feed cattle a lot more than grass and grain.
Cattle have a super power. Their four-chambered stomach allows them to eat a lot of things people can't, making the most of those 300-ish crops raised right here. Cattle upgrade plants and food byproducts that are of little-to-no value to people, into high-quality protein. It's called "upcycling," and cattle are experts. Without cattle, there would be a lot of food grown for humans and human food-processing leftovers dumped into landfills (think bruised apples, potato peels leftover from French fries, grains after they've been used for beer and even the crumbs from bakeries). The best way to explain how this works in real life is to just visit a couple of the many Washington ranchers and cattle feeders who can show and tell how it's done.
CONTRIBUTING to the economy
There are two significant beef slaughter facilities in Washington, AgriBeef's Washington Beef packing plant in Toppenish, WA and Tyson Foods Inc. packing plant in Wallula, WA. Both of these plants focus on processing feedyard-finished cattle into boxes of beef that feed Washingtonians as well as beef-consumers around the world. There are a few smaller facilities that slaughter cull cows (beef and dairy cows that have reached the end of breeding or milking productivity), and a few cooperative-founded mobile and fixed location slaughter facilities. Beef processors are the largest direct employer in Washington's cattle industry accounting for 10,577 employees.
Having packing plants in Washington provides opportunities to keep cattle, and dollars, in our state from pasture to plate. The next closest plant on the west is located in Utah. Get more information about the economic impact of cattle slaughter in Washington. (picture courtesy of Agri Beef)
Learn More about the Induced Economic Impact of the Beef Industry
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