ORANGE CITY — In total, 17 counties in northwest Iowa had over 1 million head of cattle and calves in 2021. These same northwest Iowa counties were home to over 81,000 beef cows and 64,000 dairy cows in 2021.

Subtracting the calves born, the cows and first-calf replacement heifers, there were an estimated 614,000 head of feedlot cattle that would have provided an estimated 392 million pounds of boneless retail beef.