Cattle on Feed Report     06/24  14:06

June 1 Cattle on Feed Up 1% 

By DTN Staff

                      USDA Actual   Average Estimate       Range
On Feed June 1            101%         101.5%       101.3-101.9%
Placed in May              98%          99.7%        99.2-101.6%
Marketed in May           102%         103.0%       102.4-104.1%

This article was originally posted at 2:06 p.m. CDT on Friday, 
June 24. It was last updated at 2:50 p.m. CDT on Friday, June 
24.

**

OMAHA (DTN) -- Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter 
market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 
or more head totaled 11.8 million head on June 1, 2022. The 
inventory was 1% above June 1, 2021. This is the highest June 1 
inventory since the series began in 1996, USDA NASS reported on 
Friday.

Placements in feedlots during May totaled 1.87 million head, 2% 
below 2021. Net placements were 1.79 million head. During May, 
placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds 
were 370,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 270,000 head, 700-799 
pounds were 465,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 469,000 head, 900-
999 pounds were 220,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 
75,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during May totaled 1.91 million head, 
2% above 2021.

Other disappearance totaled 76,000 head during May, 13% above 
2021.

DTN ANALYSIS

"Believe it or not, Friday's Cattle on Feed report did indeed 
share that total on-feed numbers for June 1 totaled 11,846,000 
head -- which is 1% above that of a year ago and the highest 
June 1 inventory since the series began in 1996," said DTN 
Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart. "The states that saw the 
biggest on-feed increases when compared to a year ago were 
California up 5% (570,000 head), Nebraska up 4% (2,530,000 
head), Texas up 3% (2,940,000 head) and Arizona up 3% (286,000 
head). But when compared to a month ago, the only state that saw 
an increase was Texas, and only by an addition of 1%. 

"For the placement division, the numbers seemed to pass the 
'sniff' test. Given the timely rains that parts of the country 
were blessed with, it comes as no surprise that placements were 
2% lower at 1.87 million head, as ranchers were able to now kick 
cattle out onto grass. And given that cattle have been pushed 
through the market earlier than normal because of limited feed 
earlier this year and thin supplies, it comes as no surprise 
that the weight divisions of cattle weighing under 600 pounds 
and those weighing 600 to 699 pounds were the only classes that 
saw an increase from a year ago.

"Marketings totaling 1.91 million head and being 2% higher than 
a year ago falls perfectly in line with the market's recent 
history, as processing speeds have run relentlessly. 

"But where I struggle with this report is: No. 1) How can 
Nebraska have record on-feed numbers but the cash market be so 
current that there's a $12 premium in this week's market because 
supplies of market ready cattle in the North are so thin? No. 2) 
How can May's disappearances be 13% higher than a year ago and 
total 76,000 head? (The extreme heat wave that killed cattle in 
Kansas was in June, not May.)"


**

DTN subscribers can view the full Cattle on Feed reports in the 
Livestock Archives folder under the Markets menu. The report is 
also available at https://www.nass.usda.gov/.