USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed and quarterly Hogs and Pigs reports today after the markets closed, a day early given the coming holiday schedule. The total inventory of cattle on feed as of 1 December was 11.7 million head or 102 percent of one year ago. This is now the 23rd consecutive month that inventory was larger than the year before. Placements in November at 2 million head, however, were only 95 percent of November 2017. Marketings were 1.87 million head, 101 percent of last year and the largest volume on record for the month of November.
The report was in line with pre-report estimates for the most part. Inventory and marketings were spot on with expectations, while the guesses for placements averaged 93 percent of las...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
