Cattle herds dwindle

Cattle herds dwindle

WICHITA, Kan.

A widespread drought that’s forcing ranchers to sell off animals has helped shrink the nation’s cattle herd to its smallest number in at least four decades.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service reported Friday that the number of cattle and calves in the United States totaled 97.8 million head as of July 1. That’s 2 percent less than a year ago. Beef cattle numbers were down 3 percent at 30.5 million head counted, and dairy cow numbers remained unchanged at 9.2 million.

Overall, it’s the smallest cattle inventory since the agency began a July count in 1973. NASS now estimates the size of the nation’s herd each January and July.

There are two signs the cattle numbers won’t recover soon. The nation’s 2012 calf crop also was 2 percent smaller compared with a year ago, with 34.5 million calves expected to be born this year, the report estimated.

Viacom, DirecTV reach agreement

LOS ANGELES

Viacom and DirecTV fought a bruising fight over fees to a draw Friday and agreed to a long-term deal that ended a 10-day channel blackout.

Their new deal restored MTV, Comedy Central, Nickelodeon and other channels to 20 million DirecTV customers and ensured those channels will be available to subscribers on computers and mobile devices in the coming months.

According to terms shared by both sides Friday, DirecTV Group Inc. will pay about 20 percent more to carry Viacom Inc. channels on satellite TV lineups.

Associated Press