USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow; the consensus pre-report analysts’ estimate is for the inventory of cattle on feed to be 101 percent of the prior year. This would be the sixth consecutive month that inventories were equal to or larger than the previous year. Prior to that, from September 2022 to September 2023 feedlot inventories were below year ago levels.
The analysts’ pre-report estimates have marketings at 104 percent of last year and placements at 106 percent of last year, the latter coming in a range of 103 to 109 percent of 2023. For both, note that this is a leap year with an extra day in February. Likewise for placements, feeder cattle imports are running ahead of last year.
However, as...
Beef packer margins improved to -$130/head last week, up $44 from the prior week as sharply lower fed cattle prices more than offset continued seasonal weakness in the Choice cutout. The cutout declined to $373/cwt while fed cattle prices fell to $238/cwt, allowing packer spreads to recover for...
What You Need to Know Today: The conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues to escalate with the two sides exchanging attacks over the weekend. President Trump said Iran “will pay” for recent attacks that claimed the lives of U.S. troops stationed in Jordan. There are some signs...
