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Pre-report estimates show cattle on feed down nearly 2% year-over-year

The USDA pulled back on its cattle slaughter projections in its latest Supply and Demand report. 

Charley Martinez is an ag economist at the University of Tennessee says that could be reflected in Friday’s Cattle on Feed report from the USDA.  “I want to see the change of cattle on feed between October and November, just to see from a marketing standpoint,” he says.  “The marketing’s number, what that rate of change is and see if it kind of jives with what we just talked about in the WASDE report.”

He tells Brownfield he’s also looking at the ongoing impacts of New World screwworm. “Last report had Texas, coming off the top of having the total number of head-on feed and actually going to the second spot,” he says. 

Martinez says tighter cattle supplies continue to cause ripple effects throughout the sector. “As we think about what’s been happening in the fed cattle market, last week, we didn’t see a lot of cash trade being posted,” he says.  “Out of Texas, or out of that markets of Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico.”

Pre-report estimates have all Cattle On Feed down almost 2 percent on the year.  Cattle placed in November are projected to be down 7.6 percent and cattle marketed for the month are 11.6 percent less than last year’s levels.