March 22

3/22 – In Friday’s Cattle on Feed report, the USDA said feedlot inventories on March 1st, at 12.0M head, were up 1.6% from a year ago, but down from 12.1M on February 1st. New placements onto feedlots in February were down 1.9% from 2020. Marketings were down 2.4%. Harsh February weather in TX/OK, along with fewer cattle imports, negatively impacted both placements and marketing numbers. This year’s Spring “grilling season” looks to be a big one for beef usage, with strong vaccination rates encouraging people to gather for the big three grilling holidays of Memorial Day (5/31), Father’s Day (6/20), and July 4th. Beef prices are sure to be seasonally strong this Spring. Cattle futures are $118.40/cwt (3/19) vs. a Covid-decimated $95.10 a year ago. Similarly, cattle futures point to April/May/June prices in the $118-$119 range vs. $93.68 in 2020.