NASHVILLE, TN – U.S. cattle on feed numbers dropped below expectations in USDA’s July report. As of July 1, feedlots with 1,000 or more head held 11.1 million cattle and calves, a 2 percent decline from last year and the smallest July total since 2017. That figure came in even lower than the most conservative pre-report trade estimates.
Steer inventory rose 1 percent to 6.88 million head, representing 62 percent of the total. Meanwhile, the number of heifers declined 5 percent to 4.24 million head. According to Oklahoma State University extension livestock marketing specialist Derrell Peel, the ratio of heifers in feedlots remains above the long-term average, suggesting that herd rebuilding is progressing slowly, if at all.
June placements totaled 1.44 million head, 8 percent lower than a year ago and the lowest June total since 2009. Analysts had expected a more modest drop. Marketings were also soft at 1.71 million head, down 4 percent from a year earlier and marking the lowest June level since USDA began tracking the data in 1996.
The data signals tightening feeder supplies, which could support stronger cattle prices heading into the fall.