News

Cattle on feed numbers about as expected

USDA's monthly cattle on feed update came out near pre-report expectations. According to Iowa State University Extension Livestock Economist John Lawrence, the real surprise came from the weight breakdowns in the placement category, “We saw an increase in the lighter weightplacements…so I think what that may indicate is that we're going to postpone some of those marketings, they won't be as front end loaded as they were.”

When trade resumes Tuesday, Lawrence expects cattle futures to have a neutral to bullish reaction to thenumbers, adding that he sees futures prices weakening during the summer before bouncing back in the fall.

The total amount of cattle on feed on May 1 was down 3% from a year ago at 10.822 million head, placements during April were up 4% at 1.600 million head and Aprilmarketings were 7% below a year ago at 1.871 million head.