USDA released its Cattle on Feed report today. The inventory of cattle in feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 head or more was 11.7 million head, 105 percent of May 2020.  

Average daily marketings were 88,901 in April, compared to 88,696 in March – April had 22 work days, the same as last year (March had 23 days). Marketings as a percent of cattle on feed inventory in April were 16.5 percent, compared to 17.1 percent in March.  With the slow pace of slaughter this spring it has been a case of “hurry up and wait” for fed cattle. This is the second largest May inventory on record – and the fourth consecutive month that has been the second largest monthly inventory since record keeping started in 1996...