One million fewer: Argentina would end 2025 with the third consecutive year of decline in the cattle herd

An Argentine cattle ranch is experiencing a period of high activity and firm prices, but it could end the year with a new reduction in the bovine stock, marking the third consecutive year of decline. According to private estimates and official data, the national herd could end 2025 with between 700,000 and one million fewer heads, affected by the combination of high slaughter, lack of pastures in some places and water excesses in others, and the absence of credit to retain cattle. The reasons behind this trend were reflected in a report published by the Ministry of Agriculture, which warned of declining margins in some parts of the business and rising financial costs. "During the winter (June to August) a complex cattle scenario has been seen, with disparate movements in cattle prices and an economic context marked by the correction in the exchange rate, the increase in financial costs, and large cattle-raising areas with water excesses," the report noted. The same report also ...