Drought and pasture conditions have improved from the previous month, but the situation is still very poor compared to last year and previous years. 

Month after month this year, feedlots have maintained large numbers of cattle on feed relative to history as more calves are being pushed into feedlots at a quicker-than-normal pace due to the drought impact on forage availability.

August 2021-22 recap at a glance

The USDA’s monthly World Ag Supply and Demand Estimates and Crop Production reports provide price, cost forecasts.

Elevated whey and lactose sales provided a boost to July’s global marketing volumes and values.

The U.S. beef export market has shown that it will continue to expand, even if export access is lost to key countries.

Milk prices declined and feed costs continued to rise in July, cutting into monthly dairy producer milk income over feed cost margins calculated under the Dairy Margin Coverage (DMC) program.

• Vitaliano: Dairy market trajectories seeking direction
• Dairy cull cow marketing slower in July
• Canadian cow, heifer numbers down slightly
• June fluid sales lower
• FarmFirst hosts ‘FMMO modernization’ webinar
• AFBF sets FMMO Forum in Kansas City, Oct. 14-16

On July 22, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the midyear Cattle report. It provided a snapshot of the U.S. cattle herd, which includes both beef and dairy cattle as well as a glimpse into producers’ outlook for retaining heifers and the availability of cattle for placement in the coming year.

July 2022 U.S. milk production inched higher than the same month a year ago, but cow numbers were scaled back from last month’s preliminary estimate.