July 27

7/27 – On Friday, the USDA released two key cattle reports that were mostly bearish for cattle/beef prices. In its mid-year cattle inventory report, the USDA said there were 103.0M cattle and calves in the U.S. on July 1, up slightly from 102.9M a year earlier. Milk cow numbers were marginally higher, beef cows a bit lower. In Friday’s Cattle on Feed report, the USDA said feedlot inventories were 11.44M head, just 0.4% below last year’s record large July 1 inventory. New placements onto feedlots in June were 2.1% above a year ago, the first year-over-year increase since December. In a typical year, the reports would be a big yawn. This year, cattle producers are stuck with large inventories to market against much lower foodservice demand and uncertain consumer demand. Look for herd reductions, large beef supplies and weaker prices in the 2nd half of 2020.