USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed (COF) report, released 23 March, showed the number of cattle in 1,000+ capacity feedlots at 11.7 million head as of 1 March. The total was 109 percent of last year or up 1 million head versus 1 March 2017. While also the third consecutive month that the inventory grew 8 percent or more from the prior year, this was the first time since October 2006 that it increased a full 9 percent.
February’s large placement numbers correspond with a 2.1 percent drop in steer slaughter and a 7.8 percent increase in heifer slaughter year over year. Together with increased cow slaughter, this is a sign of ongoing herd liquidation.
The market had already factored in pre-report estimates of large inventories and...
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...
