Overview

• The US's beef production industry is the largest globally and comprises two sectors, including "cow-calf operations and cattle feeding."
• According to IBISWorld, about 767,294 people are employed in the US cattle industry as of 2021. This workforce is expected to see a decline of 0.1% in 2021.
• The US has approximately 765,069 Beef Cattle Production businesses and an average employment rate of one employee per business.
• The top ten beef-producing states in the US are Texas, Nebraska, Kansas, California, Oklahoma, Missouri, Iowa, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Colorado.

Number of Employees by State

Kansas

• Kansas accounts for about 6.83% of the US's total cattle (about 6.45 million heads).
• Beef cattle production employs around 34,000 residents in Kansas.
• "According to the Kansas Department of Agriculture, beef cattle farming and ranching has a direct output of approximately $6.3 billion."

California

• California contributes about 5.51% of the total cattle in the US (5.2 million heads).
• The state has roughly 13,694 cattle ranches (businesses), which constitutes 13,694 employees (average of one employee per business).
• "In 2017, cattle and calves generated about $3.2 billion in revenue."

Missouri

• Missouri contributes roughly 4.61% of the total cattle in the US (4.35 million heads).
• The state's beef industry employs about 45,000 people directly and "supports 72,000 jobs in total, both directly, indirectly, or induced."

Iowa

• Iowa contributes roughly 4.13% of the total cattle in the US (3.9 million heads).
• Beef cattle production employs around 33,147 people in Iowa, both directly, indirectly, or induced.
• "Iowa's cattle industry contributed over $6.8 billion in business activity to the state's economy."

South Dakota

• South Dakota contributes about 3.9 million heads (4.13%) to the total number of cattle in the US.
• The state has about "17,000 ranches and cattlemen" and provides approximately 12,500 full-time jobs.
• South Dakota's beef production industry generates about $2.284 billion in revenue.

Summary

• The US's beef production industry is the largest globally and comprises both cattle operations and feeding sectors.
• The information regarding the number of people that this industry employs per state and its equivalent share of state jobs available are not precompiled. As such, they would need to be sourced/calculated individually.
• The same proves for the GDP contribution of each state.