January 27

1/27 – In Friday’s Cattle on Feed report, the USDA said new placements onto feedlots in Dec were 3.5% above a year ago and the Jan 1st feedlot inventory, at 11.96M head, was 2.3% above last year. Heifers on feed are up 4.0% and now account for 38.3% of feedlot inventories - a level that indicates producers are not retaining enough females for continued herd expansion. In Jan’s Livestock, Dairy & Poultry Outlook, the USDA again reduced projected 2020 beef output to just 1.1% above a year ago – and that meager increase will be more than offset by a 9.3% jump in exports and a 5.9% decline in imports. In 2019, Australian beef exports to the U.S. - mostly 90s lean trimmings - were up 8.9% as a multiple-year drought led to herd liquidation and higher slaughter rates. However, smaller cattle herds, damage from fires and China’s huge protein needs will make Aussie beef scarce in 2020.