Dr. Derrell Peel, Beef Economist from Oklahoma State University reports the quarterly inventory of heifers on feed was 4.6 million head, down 0.9 percent year over year. Heifers made up 39.7 percent of the total feedlot inventory on Oct. 1, up slightly from the 39.6 percent in July. Heifers have averaged 39.5 percent of total feedlot inventories for the past ten quarters, since July 2022 and have been above the 15-year average of 36.9 percent since October 2018.

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Aspirin has never gone through the process of being approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in cattle. However, FDA considered aspirin to be of “low regulatory concern,” so its use in scenarios where a veterinarian determined there to be no other option for treatment was acceptable. The agency has now reversed that stance and released a letter to veterinarians this week emphasizing that aspirin use in dairy cattle and other food animals is prohibited.

Other relatively common dairy treatments, including lidocaine, epinephrine, and calcium solutions, are also technically unapproved. Unapproved drugs may still be used in therapeutic cases on an individual animal basis when there is no approved option for treatment and they are considered of low regulatory concern, meaning they are likely safe.