WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. cattle herd is slightly smaller this year than at the same time last year, according to the latest July Cattle on Feed Report from USDA.
Though the herd, as measured by the number of cattle and calves in feedlots destined for the slaughter market, is below the July 1, 2019 estimate from USDA, it does represent the second-highest July inventory since the series began in 1996.
Placements into feedlots represent the number of cattle that will be fed, on average, 150 days up to slaughter. The most recent placement number from USDA suggests cattlemen moved 2 percent more into the feedlots last month.
Actually, steers and steer calves make up 61 percent of the placements – a slight increase from 2019 – while fewer heifers and heifer calves made the truck.
Western Illinois University livestock economist Dr. Jason Franken suggests beef production will be no more than 1 percent higher in 2020 than last year and will fall 2 percent next year.
As for prices, Franken says they are likely to follow similar seasonal patterns as in prior years, albeit at lower levels. Slaughter steer prices are forecast to average, respectively, about $99/hundredweight (cwt) in the third quarter, $110/cwt for the fourth, followed by $114/cwt in the first quarter of 2021 and drop to $101/cwt next spring.
(SOURCE: All Ag News)