Cattle on Feed Report     05/20  14:06

May 1 Cattle on Feed 

By DTN Staff

                      USDA Actual   Average Estimate       Range
On Feed May 1             102%         101.5%       101.2-101.8%
Placed in April            99%          96.5%         93.6-97.8%
Marketed in April          98%          97.9%         97.7-98.0%

This article was originally posted at 2:06 p.m. CDT on Friday, 
May 20. It was last updated at 2:51 p.m. CDT on Friday, May 20.

**

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 12.0 million head on May 1, 2022. The 
inventory was 2% above May 1, 2021. This is the highest May 1 
inventory since the series began in 1996, USDA NASS reported on 
Friday.

Placements in feedlots during April totaled 1.81 million head, 
1% below 2021. Net placements were 1.76 million head. During 
April, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 
pounds were 355,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 270,000 head, 700-
799 pounds were 415,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 489,000 head, 
900-999 pounds were 210,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater 
were 70,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during April totaled 1.89 million head, 
2% below 2021.

Other disappearance totaled 54,000 head during April, 2% below 
2021.

DTN ANALYSIS

"Friday's Cattle on Feed report doesn't share any startling 
unthought-of realities, but it sobers one's viewpoint moving 
forward," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart. 
"First, even though this dead horse has been beaten enough 
already, the U.S. sits with a pile of cattle on feed. Friday's 
report shared that for the May 1 inventory, total on-feed 
numbers equated to 11,967,000 head -- the highest May 1 
inventory since the series began in 1996. The states that saw 
the biggest year-over-year increase in cattle on feed were 
California (up 5%), Colorado (up 5%), Nebraska (up 5%) and Texas 
(up 3%). The states of Iowa (down 6%), Minnesota (down 9%) and 
South Dakota (down 6%) all saw decreases. In the months ahead, 
strong throughput will be incredibly important to keep the 
market from falling into the trap of having a backlog of cattle 
to work through. 

"Second, it was surprising to still see placements at 99% of a 
year ago, equating to 1,809,000 head, which was again fueled by 
drought conditions. Compared to a year ago, the states with the 
biggest jumps in placements were California (up 19%), Washington 
(up 13%), Minnesota (up 8%) and Oklahoma (up 8%). When compared 
to a month ago, most of the states saw a decrease in placements, 
but the two states of California (up 7%) and Washington (up 9%) 
still saw higher placement. Overall, though, compared to a month 
ago, placements were down 9% throughout the U.S. The weight 
divisions that saw the biggest year-over-year increase were 
those weighing 600 to 699 pounds (up 20,000 head) and those 
weighing 800 to 899 pounds (up 4,000 head).
 
"In the months ahead, it will be inherently important to watch 
processing speeds, as throughout will gravely affect the 
market's ability to demand stronger prices moving forward."

**

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/.