WASHINGTON, D.C. – Drought is playing a significant role in the cattle cycle. Two years of drought have deteriorated pasture and forage conditions, and the pastureland condition index for 2022 is off to its worst start for the grazing season since the series began in 1995. This is pushing calves into the feedlots at a faster pace, which will likely quicken the pace of fed cattle slaughter in 2022, leaving fewer supplies of cattle available for slaughter in late 2022 and 2023.
With a large supply of cattle on feed, last Friday’s Cattle On Feed report shows the highest inventory on record at 11,967,000.
The states that saw the biggest year-over-year increase in cattle on feed were California (up 5%), Colorado (up 5%), Nebraska (up 5%) and Texas (up 3%). The states of Iowa (down 6%), Minnesota (down 9%) and South Dakota (down 6%) all saw decreases.
The weight divisions that saw the biggest year-over-year increase were those weighing 600 to 699 pounds (up 20,000 head) and those weighing 800 to 899 pounds (up 4,000 head).
Critical to down the road is packers keeping those chains moving and consumer demand remaining strong in the months ahead, in order to avoid a backlog.
Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 12.0 million head on May 1, 2022. The inventory was 2 percent above May 1, 2021. This is the highest May 1 inventory since the series began in 1996.
Placements in feedlots during April totaled 1.81 million head, 1 percent below 2021. Net placements were 1.76 million head.
During April, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 355,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 270,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 415,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 489,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 210,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 70,000 head.
Marketings of fed cattle during April totaled 1.89 million head, 2 percent below 2021.
Other disappearance totaled 54,000 head during April, 2 percent below 2021.
COLORADO:
The number of cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in Colorado feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 head or larger was estimated at 1,090,000 head as of May 1, 2022. The latest inventory was 1 percent below last month’s inventory but 5 percent above the May 1, 2021 inventory.
Cattle feeders with 1,000 head or larger capacity marketed an estimated 170,000 head of fed cattle during April 2022. This was 13 percent below the previous month’s marketings and 3 percent below the marketings one year earlier.
An estimated 165,000 cattle and calves were placed on feed during April 2022, 8 percent below the previous month’s placements but 3 percent above the April 2021 placements.
Of the number placed in April, 18 percent weighed less than 600 pounds, 18 percent weighed from 600 to 699 pounds, 21 percent weighed from 700 to 799 pounds, 24 percent weighed 800 to 899 pounds, and 18 percent weighed 900 pounds or greater.
Other disappearance for April, at 5,000 head, was the same as last month and the same as last year.
MINNESOTA:
Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in Minnesota feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 100,000 head on May 1, 2022, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Cattle on Feed report. This was unchanged from April but down 9 percent from May 1, 2021.
Placements of cattle and calves in Minnesota feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head during April totaled 14,000 head, down 7 percent from March but up 8 percent from last year.
Marketings of fed cattle from Minnesota feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head during April totaled 13,000 head, down 7 percent from March and down 24 percent from last year. Other disappearance totaled 1,000 head.
NEBRASKA:
Nebraska feedlots, with capacities of 1,000 or more head, contained 2.65 million cattle on feed on May 1, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. This inventory was up 5% from last year.
Placements during April totaled 440,000 head, up 4% from 2021.
Fed cattle marketings for the month of April totaled 440,000 head, down 5% from last year.
Other disappearance during April totaled 10,000 head, unchanged from last year
IOWA:
Note: This report is a combination of estimates from the USDA Cattle on Feed survey for Iowa feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head and the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship-funded Cattle on Feed survey for Iowa feedlots with a capacity of less than 1,000 head.
Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in Iowa feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 590,000 head on May 1, 2022, according to the latest USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service – Cattle on Feed report. This was down 2 percent from April and down 6 percent from May 1, 2021.
Iowa feedlots with a capacity of less than 1,000 head had 565,000 head on feed, down 2 percent from last month but up 5 percent from last year.
Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in all Iowa feedlots totaled 1,155,000 head, down 2 percent from last month and down 1 percent from last year.
Placements of cattle and calves in Iowa feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head during April 2022 totaled 85,000 head, down 15 percent from March and down 14 percent from April 2021. Feedlots with a capacity of less than 1,000 head placed 48,000 head, up 14 percent from March but down 17 percent from April 2021.
Placements for all feedlots in Iowa totaled 133,000 head, down 6 percent from March and down 15 percent from April 2021.
Marketings of fed cattle from Iowa feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head during April 2022 totaled 93,000 head, down 14 percent from March and down 3 percent from April 2021. Feedlots with a capacity of less than 1,000 head marketed 55,000 head, unchanged from March but down 15 percent from April 2021.
Marketings for all feedlots in Iowa were 148,000 head, down 9 percent from March and down 8 percent from April 2021. Other disappearance from all feedlots in Iowa totaled 5,000 head.
KANSAS:
Kansas feedlots, with capacities of 1,000 or more head, contained 2.48 million cattle on feed on May 1, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service. This inventory was up slightly from last year.
Placements during April totaled 430,000 head, down 1% from 2021.
Fed cattle marketings for the month of April totaled 450,000 head, up 3% from last year.
Other disappearance during April totaled 10,000 head, unchanged from last year
TEXAS:
*Note: This report contains results from the May 2022 Cattle on Feed Survey collected during the first two weeks of May. Data provided by Oklahoma and Texas producers are the foundation of the estimates made for the Southern Plains region.
Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in Texas feedlots with capacity of 1,000 head or more totaled 2.90 million head on May 1, 2022, up 3 percent from a year ago. Producers placed 395 thousand head in commercial feedlots during April, down 4 percent from a year ago.
Texas commercial feeders marketed 435 thousand head during April, down 3 percent from 2021.
On May 1, there were 2.57 million head of cattle and calves on feed in the Northern High Plains, 89 percent of the state’s total. The number on feed across the area was up 3 percent from last year but down 1 percent from the April 1 total.
April placements in the Northern High Plains totaled 362 thousand head, down 8 percent from
the March total.
Marketings were up 4 percent from last month at 392 thousand head.
OKLAHOMA:
Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in Oklahoma feedlots with capacity of 1,000 head or more totaled 275 thousand head on May 1, 2022, unchanged from a year ago.
Producers placed 42 thousand head in commercial feedlots during April, up 8 percent from a year ago.
Oklahoma commercial feeders marketed 56 thousand head during April, down 11 percent from 2021.
Other disappearance during April totaled 1 thousand head, unchanged from a year ago.
