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The September USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) Cattle on Feed report pegged Sept. 1 feedlot inventories at 11.234 million head, 98.6% of last year.
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the midyear Cattle report on July 23, which provided a snapshot of the U.S. cattle inventory, as well as a glimpse into cow-calf producers’ intentions for retaining heifers.
The USDA announced in early August that two new reports, published in USDA Market News and based on Livestock Mandatory Reporting data, will provide additional insight into formula cattle trades and help promote fair and competitive markets.
The federally inspected slaughter for June was strong, exceeding the three previous years. More heifers and cows were in the slaughter mix in June, causing the average carcass weight to drop below the previous month’s expectations.
As reported by the U.S. Drought Monitor on May 4, 2021, 66% of the country was experiencing some level of drought, compared to just 31% the same week last year (see Figure 1).
The latest USDA Cattle on Feed report pegs May 1 feedlot inventories at 11.725 million head, 104.7% of last year. A more useful comparison is to 2019 levels with the 2021 May 1 total down 0.7% from May 2019.
Preliminary March 2021 federally inspected slaughter volume was up by 75,000 head from a year ago, totaling 2.95 million head, due to one extra slaughter day relative to March 2020.
The April USDA Cattle on Feed report requires careful interpretation. The typical year-to-year comparisons are mostly meaningless because of the pandemic disruptions affecting markets one year ago.
The severe winter event in mid-February that dipped as far south as Texas disrupted packing plant operations, further-processing facilities and delivery of cattle to plants.
