USDA Cattle on Feed Report Preview

This article was originally published at 11:25 a.m. CST on Thursday, Feb. 20. It was updated with additional analysis at 11:24 a.m. CST on Friday, Feb. 21.

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OMAHA (DTN) -- Friday's Feb. 1 USDA Cattle on Feed report will likely be perceived as bearish given that placements are expected to be greater than a year ago.

But what's important to remember here is that last January, placements were down 7% (totaling 1.79 million head) as the U.S. battled brutally cold temperatures, which hindered the regular flow of feeders into feedlots. And although pre-report estimates forecast that placements will be anywhere from steady to 6% higher than a year ago, some uncertainty is looming given that Mexican cattle imports were still banned in January, which again disrupts the regular flow of feeders in feedlots. Nevertheless, placements will most likely be greater than a year ago given the events that took place a year ago. However, Friday's report could surprise us.

USDA will release its Feb. 1 Cattle on Feed report at 2 p.m. CST on Friday.

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	USDA Actual	Average Estimate	Range
On Feed Feb. 1		99.3%	98.8-99.9%
Placed in January		103.7%	100.0-106.1%
Marketed in January		102.1%	101.3-102.5%

ShayLe Stewart can be reached at ShayLe.Stewart@dtn.com

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