The latest Cattle on Feed report was released Jan. 22. Included in this report were placements and marketings for December 2020 and the on-feed total for Jan. 1, 2021.

The latest monthly trade data were released by the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) in early November. The September data continued to show adjustments from the beef production and beef price changes earlier in the year, as well as the impacts of global beef demand.

The percentage of steer and heifer carcasses grading Prime so far during 2020 has outpaced normal levels. The average percent Prime for the first seven months of 2020 was 10.6%, which is the highest January-July average on record and about 2% higher than during the first seven months of 2019.

Cattle supplies and movement through the supply chain have been headline topics in 2020. Disruptions caused many changes that impacted producer decisions. It is also important to occasionally take a longer-term view at cattle supplies. Recent reports released provide the most current update on the state of cattle supplies. 

U.S. beef trade continues to adjust to supply and demand shocks. The latest data release from the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS) shows the impact of these shocks on U.S beef exports and imports.

No segment of the cattle industry has been spared from the uncertainty and turmoil driven by COVID-19. However, the dynamics for the slaughter cow market have been a little different than those for the live cattle coming from feedlots that have garnered the most discussion due to plant disruptions.

The latest livestock and meat monthly trade data from the Economic Research Service (ERS) was released on Oct. 7 and included the month of August 2019 as the most recent data available.

1. Corn will be king (again)

The USDA Prospective Plantings report was released at the end of March and showed estimates of corn regaining the crown from soybeans as the crop with the most planted acreage in the U.S. Prospective corn planted area is estimated at 92.8 million acres, which is 4 percent or about 3.66 million acres above last year.