Ron Plain
University of Missouri
=========================
USDA said the number of cattle on feed in large feedlots at the start of April was down 0.6% compared to April 2013. The pre-release trade forecast was for the on-feed number to be up 0.4%. This is the twentieth consecutive month that the number of cattle on feed has been below the year-ago level. The April on-feed number is the lowest for any April since 2010.
March placements of cattle into large feed yards (over 1,000 head capacity) were 4.7% lower than in March 2013. The 1.795 million head placed was the fewest in March since 2012. The average of pre-release trade forecasts was for March placements to be up 1.6%. Fewer cattle placed than was expected gives this report a slightly bullish nature.
USDA said marketings of fed cattle from large feed yards during March totaled 1.66 million head, down 3.7% compared to March 2013, and the lowest for any March since USDA began this data series in 1996. The trade predicted March marketings would be down 3.5%. March steer and heifer slaughter was down 4.2% compared to a year ago. There was the same number of marketing days in March 2014 as a year earlier.
The calculated average weight of cattle placed on feed during March was down 0.3% from March 2013. The number of cattle placed on feed weighing less than 600 pounds was up 3.7% from the previous March. Placements of feeders weighing 600 to 700 pounds were down 7.9%; placements weighing 700 to 800 pounds were down 13.1%, and placements weighing more than 800 pounds were down 1.4% compared to a year earlier.
The number of steers on feed was up 2.2% on April 1. The number of heifers on feed was down 5.9%. Heifers made up 34.2% of the cattle on feed, the lowest share for April since 2006. This is a strong indication that producers are retaining heifers to expand the cow herd.
The average price of fresh beef in grocery stores during March was a record $5.362 per pound. That was up 9.1 cents from the record set the month before and 44.4 cents higher than in March 2013. The average retail price for choice beef in March was a record $5.72 per pound, up 14.5 cents from the record set the month before.
Cattle on Feed, 1000+ Capacity Feedlots, U.S. | |
| | 012 | 2013 | 2014 | Percent of
Year Ago | |
1,000 head | |
On Feed March 1 | 11,667 | 10,845 | 10,790 | 99.5% | |
Placed during March | 1,792 | 1,884 | 1,795 | 95.3% | |
Marketed during March | 1,918 | 1,724 | 1,660 | 96.3% | |
Other Disappearance | 69 | 81 | 65 | 80.2% | |
On Feed April 1 | 11,482 | 10,924 | 10,860 | 99.4% | |
Source: AGEBB