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.

The July USDA Cattle on Feed report shows July feedlot inventories of 11.29 million head, down 1.3% from last year and down 1.7% compared to 2019.

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).

University of Missouri (MU) Extension beef nutritionist Eric Bailey says beef producers can offset rising feed prices with changes in their operations. “It’s time to literally cut the fat from cow-calf operations,” says Bailey.

Following a record-breaking March performance, exports of U.S. beef and pork continued to build momentum in April, according to data released by the USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF).

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.

Most of the U.S. beef packing infrastructure was built in the 1980s. Cattle inventories in the decade of the 1980s averaged 108.3 million head, 15% greater than the 92.1 million head average of the past decade. The industry was characterized by excess capacity for many years as cattle inventories declined.

U.S. red meat exports ended the first quarter on a very high note, according to data released by the USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), with March beef and pork exports each posting the highest monthly value on record.

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.