January 25

1/25 – In Friday’s Cattle on Feed report, the USDA said that new placements onto feedlots in December were slightly above a year ago (+0.7%) following 8.9% and 11.0% declines in Nov & Oct, respectively. Feedlot inventories on Jan 1st, at 11.97M head, are roughly at year-ago levels. With feed costs elevated, economics favor keeping animals off-feed and on-pasture where possible. That will tighten the availability of market-ready cattle this coming spring and summer. So far, the resurgence in Covid cases this winter has not led to another round of plant closures. Cattle futures prices fluctuated wildly, from lows of $83.83 and highs of $127.43/cwt in 2020, and averaged $105.35 for the year. Forward futures contracts for 2021 are averaging $120.19, up 13.8% from 2020. In its December WASDE report, the USDA forecast choice steers to average $115.50 for 2021.