Agricultural News
OSU's Derrell Peel Says Latest Cattle on Feed Report was Well Anticipated - No Surprises in This Report
Mon, 22 Jul 2019 11:38:13 CDT
The USDA released its Cattle on Feed report for the July 1, 2019 last week. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays sat down with OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel for his reaction to the numbers in this month's report, which he says was well in line with the average expectations. You can listen to their complete conversation by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the page.
"No there really weren't any surprises," Peel said. "This report was very well anticipated."
According to the report, cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.5 million head on July 1, 2019. The inventory was 2 percent above July 1, 2018. This is the highest July 1 inventory since the series began in 1996. The inventory included 7.01 million steers and steer calves, down 2 percent from the previous year. This group accounted for 61 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.47 million head, up 8 percent from 2018.
Placements in feedlots during June totaled 1.76 million head, 2 percent below 2018. Net placements were 1.69 million head. During June, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 385,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 295,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 391,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 390,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 185,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 110,000 head.
Marketings of fed cattle during June totaled 1.95 million head, 3 percent below 2018.
Peel says the numbers in this report appear to be consistent with the trend that has been ongoing over the last several months. He says the inventory has not seen any notable growth for a while now, though there is still a record number of cattle out there. According to him, that can be interpreted to mean that despite the large number of cattle, the industry has been able to keep up with processing and the demand has been there to match its pace. Based on the information at hand, Peel believes fed cattle can still turn a profit in this market, if managers have planned ahead for the impending rise in feed costs.
"Profitability I think in general is ok," he said. "The biggest concern in that of course is we're looking at higher feed costs moving forward. We don't know how high corn is going to go at this point frankly, but it's clearly going to be higher."
Click here to see the USDA's Cattle on Feed report for July 1, 2019 for yourself.
Listen to Peel breakdown the numbers in this month's report with Hays, on today's Beef Buzz.
The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR below for today's show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.
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