Cattle on Feed Report     09/23  14:07

Sept. 1 Cattle on Feed Up Slightly

By DTN Staff

                      USDA Actual   Average Estimate       Range
On Feed Sept. 1          100%          100.0%        99.0-101.3%
Placed in August         100%           98.1%        93.2-100.9%
Marketed in August       106%          105.9%        99.8-106.5%

This article was originally posted at 2:07 p.m. CDT on Friday, 
Sept. 23. It was last updated with additional information at 
2:57 p.m. CDT on Friday, Sept. 23. 

**

OMAHA (DTN) -- Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter 
market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 
or more head totaled 11.3 million head on Sept. 1, 2022, USDA 
NASS reported on Friday. The inventory was slightly above 
September 1, 2021. This is the second highest Sept. 1 inventory 
since the series began in 1996.

Placements in feedlots during August totaled 2.11 million head, 
slightly above 2021. Net placements were 2.06 million head. 
During August, placements of cattle and calves weighing less 
than 600 pounds were 430,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 320,000 
head, 700-799 pounds were 465,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 
532,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 270,000 head, and 1,000 pounds 
and greater were 95,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during August totaled 2.00 million 
head, 6 percent above 2021.

Other disappearance totaled 53,000 head during August, 10 
percent below 2021.

DTN ANALYSIS

"While Friday's Cattle on Feed report didn't show fewer on-feed 
numbers -- or even fewer placements -- the report wasn't a 
runaway bearish train either," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe 
Stewart.
 
"Total on-feed numbers for Sept. 1, 2022, totaled 11,279,000 
head, which is only 45,000 head more than a year ago. The major 
feeding states that showed steady/higher year-over-year on-feed 
numbers were Iowa (steady, 590,000 head), Nebraska (up 4%, 
2,370,000 head), and Texas (up 4%, 2,820,000 head). Both Kansas 
(down 4%, 2,380,000 head) and Colorado (down 5%, 1,030,000 head) 
were the major feeding regions that were lower compared to a 
year ago.
 
"Placements during the month of August were a gamble to call, as 
one roll of the dice could have claimed that placements were 
going to be higher, as auction receipts grew throughout the 
month. But, on the other hand, the alternative roll could have 
proclaimed that given the pointedly higher placements earlier 
this year, drought marketings had already pushed the vast 
majority of cattle into feedlots. Nevertheless, Friday's Cattle 
on Feed report shared that placements during the month of August 
2022 totaled 2,112,000 head, which was completely steady with 
last year's placements. This weighs on the report's bullish 
nature, as analysts' weighted average predicted that placements 
would be 98.1% of a year ago. The states that saw placement 
increases from a year ago were Arizona (up 5%), Iowa (up 16%), 
Kansas (up 1%), Minnesota (up 29%), Nebraska (up 3%) and Texas 
(up 9%). One thing to keep in mind when mulling over these 
placement figures is that in a normal year, heifer calves aren't 
placed as aggressively in feedlots as they are right now. But 
given that drought conditions are still plaguing a considerable 
portion of the U.S., heifer calve continue to find their way 
into feedlots across the nation.
 
"But, thankfully, fed cattle marketings did not disappoint in 
the month of August! Compared to a year ago, fed cattle 
marketings were up 6%, which equates to 2,004,000 being 
marketed. Given the aggressive pace in which cattle are being 
placed, this news is substantial, as keeping showlists current 
remains extremely important."

**

DTN subscribers can view the full Cattle on Feed reports in the 
Livestock Archives folder under the Markets menu. The report is 
also available at https://www.nass.usda.gov/.