USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released Friday. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity was 11.5 million head, unchanged from last month, but 98 percent of last year.
Marketings totaled 1.63 million head, or 87 percent of last year, in line with pre-report expectations. They declined due to fewer placements in previous months, less aggressive packer demand, and periodic winter weather disruptions. Placements were 1.74 million head, 95 percent of last year and below pre-report expectations. Most of the decline in placements came from lighter- and middle-weight cattle, as shown below. Net placements were 1.68 million head, which would imply a cattle-on-feed inventory of more than...
What You Need to Know Today: The G7 agreed to release 100 million barrels of crude oil and fuel reserves over four months, with a substantial diesel release front-loaded into the first 20 days. The announcement initially pushed crude oil lower on Friday, although it later recovered a portion o...
In a recent social media post, R-CALF unveiled its latest cattle market plan: “contracts that bind producers before establishing a base price, then tie that price to future negotiated cash transactions, should be prohibited.” That proposal aligns with recent legislation by Represent...
Key Takeaways: The recent pearl-clutching from parts of the beef industry regarding the loss of the daily Kansas fed cattle negotiated trade pricing report is overwrought and ignores the fact that the direction was readily apparent. The shift away from negotiated trade has been well docu...
