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Packers continue to make gains on the processing of fed cattle. Based on USDA Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) data for actual and estimated slaughter of steers and heifers in August, the pace of fed cattle slaughtered appears to have risen above year-ago levels for the first time since March (see Figure 1).
In July, the USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the mid-year Cattle report, which provided a snapshot of U.S. cattle inventory as well as a glimpse into cow-calf producers’ intentions for retaining heifers.
Meatpacking facilities have continued to recover weekday slaughter capacity and have used Saturday as an opportunity to improve overall weekly slaughter totals.
Over the past two months at the time of this writing, U.S. beef packers had to implement new health protocols for dealing with COVID-19 that might have hindered their ability to process cattle.
In first-quarter 2020, beef production reached record levels on the largest number of cattle slaughtered for the quarter since 2002 and the heaviest dressed weights since 2016.
The spread of COVID-19 has caused shifts in the beef demand structure; coupled with global economic uncertainty, it is affecting the entire beef supply chain.
The 2020 beef production forecast for 2020 was raised by 240 million pounds to 27.7 billion pounds from the previous month. This increase is based on the pace of fed cattle slaughter and heavier expected cattle dressed weights.
The USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released its semiannual Cattle report on Jan. 31. The total number of cattle and calves on Jan. 1, 2020, was estimated at 94.4 million head, nearly 400,000 head lower than the previous year.
The 2019 fourth-quarter beef production forecast was adjusted higher by 15 million pounds from the previous month to 7 billion pounds, which raised the forecast for annual production to 27.2 billion pounds. The increase was based on a faster-than-expected pace of non-fed cattle slaughter in December, in particular beef cow slaughter.
