USDA Sept. 1 Cattle on Feed Report

By DTN Staff

This article was originally published at 2:04 p.m. CDT on Friday, Sept. 23. It was last updated with additional information at 2:55 p.m. CDT on Friday, Sept. 23.

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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 11.3 million head on Sept. 1, 2022, USDA NASS reported on Friday. The inventory was slightly above Sept. 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% above 2021.

Other disappearance totaled 53,000 head during August, 10% 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."

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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 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%

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