USDA June 1 Cattle on Feed Report

By DTN Staff

This article was originally published at 2:03 p.m. CDT on Friday, June 24. It was last updated at 2:47 p.m. on Friday, June 24.

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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 11.8 million head on June 1, 2022. The inventory was 1% above June 1, 2021. This is the highest June 1 inventory since the series began in 1996, USDA NASS reported on Friday.

Placements in feedlots during May totaled 1.87 million head, 2% below 2021. Net placements were 1.79 million head. During May, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 370,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 270,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 465,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 469,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 220,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 75,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during May totaled 1.91 million head, 2% above 2021.

Other disappearance totaled 76,000 head during May, 13% above 2021.

DTN ANALYSIS

"Believe it or not, Friday's Cattle on Feed report did indeed share that total on-feed numbers for June 1 totaled 11,846,000 head -- which is 1% above that of a year ago and the highest June 1 inventory since the series began in 1996," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart. "The states that saw the biggest on-feed increases when compared to a year ago were California up 5% (570,000 head), Nebraska up 4% (2,530,000 head), Texas up 3% (2,940,000 head) and Arizona up 3% (286,000 head). But when compared to a month ago, the only state that saw an increase was Texas, and only by an additional 1%.

"For the placement division, the numbers seemed to pass the 'sniff' test. Given the timely rains that parts of the country were blessed with, it comes as no surprise that placements were 2% lower at 1.87 million head, as ranchers were able to now kick cattle out onto grass. And given that cattle have been pushed through the market earlier than normal because of limited feed earlier this year and thin supplies, it comes as no surprise that the weight divisions of cattle weighing under 600 pounds and those weighing 600 to 699 pounds were the only classes that saw an increase from a year ago.

"Marketings totaling 1.91 million head and being 2% higher than a year ago falls perfectly in line with the market's recent history, as processing speeds have run relentlessly.

"But where I struggle with this report is: No. 1) How can Nebraska have record on-feed numbers but the cash market be so current that there's a $12 premium in this week's market because supplies of market-ready cattle in the North are so thin? No. 2) How can May's disappearances be 13% higher than a year ago and total 76,000 head? (The extreme heat wave that killed cattle in Kansas was in June, not May.)"

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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/….

	USDA Actual	Average Estimate	Range
On Feed June 1	101%	101.5%	101.3-101.9%
Placed in May	98%	99.7%	99.2-101.6%
Marketed in May	102%	103.0%	102.4-104.1%

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