Agricultural News
USDA Cattle on Feed Report Proves Friendlier Than Expected with Placements 2% Under Last Year
Fri, 23 Aug 2019 15:14:22 CDT
The USDA released its Cattle on Feed report for the August 1, 2019 on Friday afternoon. Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays reached out to OSU Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel for his reaction to the numbers in this month's report. You can listen to their complete conversation by clicking or tapping the LISTEN BAR below at the bottom of the page.
"There was a number of expectations at or higher than where this report indicated we're at," Peel said. "I think we're in pretty good shape, relatively current and so that should be viewed as at least slightly friendly."
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 11.1 million head on August 1, 2019. The inventory was slightly above August 1, 2018. This is the highest August 1 inventory since the series began in 1996.
Placements in feedlots during July totaled 1.71 million head, 2 percent below 2018. Net placements were 1.63 million head. During July, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 360,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 260,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 410,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 385,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 200,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 90,000 head.
Marketings of fed cattle during July totaled 2.00 million head, 7 percent above 2018.
Peel says the lower placements are likely a result of the recent runup in corn prices in concert with producers' willingness to withhold cattle a bit longer in order to take advantage of the relatively good forage conditions that have developed this summer. Peel says this is a positive in terms of the industry's ability to recover from the impacts of the recent fire event that has taken Tyson Foods' Holcomb, Kan. packing plant offline.
Click here to see the USDA's Cattle on Feed report for August 1, 2018 for yourself.
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