U.S. cattle inventory up slightly from last year

89.9 million head of cattle and calves in the U.S. That's up 1 percent from 2014.

As of January 1, the semiannual cattle report published by USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) reported that this is the first increase in U.S. herd inventory since 2007.

Other key findings in the report were:

To obtain an accurate measurement of the current state of the U.S. cattle industry, NASS surveyed more than 38,200 operators across the nation during the first half of January. NASS interviewers collected the data by mail, telephone, internet, and through face-to-face personal interviews. NASS asked all participating producers to report their cattle inventories as of January 1, 2015.