Feeder cattle sales were up over a year ago in February, but much of that was due to February 2025 sales being light. Still, the increase in activity bears watching, both for what it implies about feedlot placements and for herd rebuilding. In the four weeks ending February 27, total feeder cattle sales were 193,800 head, up 21.5 percent from a year ago. Auction sales in February were up 15 percent from the year before, direct sales jumped 51 percent, and video and internet sales were 46.5 percent higher. Sales of feeder cattle weighing more than 600 pounds, which is the category that leads to more placements, were up almost 27 percent from last year. Placements into feedlots won’t necessarily be up by 20 percent, but they...
What You Need to Know Today: The Trump administration announced new tariffs of 10 percent to 12.5 percent on imports from 60 major U.S. trading partners as part of a Section 301 action aimed at combating forced labor in global supply chains. Countries that have agreed to adopt and enforce bans...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today, along with the semi-annual cattle inventory report. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 head or more amounted to 11.4 million head, or 102 percent of last year. All cattle and calves totaled 94.2...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.