USDA May 1 Cattle on Feed Report

24 May 2024

By DTN Staff

This article was originally published at 2:03 p.m. CDT on Friday, May 24. It was last updated with additional information at 2:27 p.m. CDT on Friday, May 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 11.6 million head on May 1, 2024. The inventory was 1% below May 1, 2023, USDA NASS reported on Friday.

Placements in feedlots during April totaled 1.66 million head, 6% below 2023. Net placements were 1.60 million head. During April, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 335,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 220,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 375,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 451,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 205,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 70,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during April totaled 1.87 million head, 10% above 2023.

Other disappearance totaled 56,000 head during April, 10% above 2023.

DTN ANALYSIS

"Friday's Cattle on Feed report came out almost identically to what analysts' pre-estimates predicted," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart. "All in all, the report should be found to be bullish for the cattle market, as on-feed numbers are lower than a year ago, there were fewer cattle placed than a year ago, and marketings compared to a year ago were extremely aggressive.

"Not one single weight division saw greater placement numbers than a year ago, but compared to a month ago, there were more feeders placed in the following weight divisions: under 600 pounds (5,000 head), 900 to 999 pounds (35,000 head) and 1,000 pounds plus (10,000 head).

"In terms of marketing data, it was interesting to see that compared to a month ago, all the states except Iowa and Minnesota saw greater month-over-month marketings, with Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Idaho seeing the greatest month-over-month increases. That is thanks to none other than the rallying nature of the cash cattle market and feedlot managers' willingness to actively market their showlists, week in and week out.

"Friday's Cattle on Feed Report should be found to be bullish long term for the market, as feedlots were able to market cattle last month and lessen some of the inventory heading into summer. It's likely that the cattle complex will react positively to this data early next week."

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/….