April 26

4/26 – In Friday’s Cattle on Feed report, the USDA said feedlot inventories, at 11.9M head on April 1st, were up 5.3% from a year ago – fueled by a 28.3% surge in March placements. Granted, 2.0M new placements is a big number, but it’s being bumped up against last year’s Covid distorted, 25-year low of 1.56M, and compares to a pre-Covid, 5-year average of 1.95M. Also, March was a “catch-up” month for placements following frigid temps in February that inhibited cattle movement. Pre-report, analysts expected placements & inventories to be even higher. Restaurants are re-opening, Americans are vaccinated and the big 3 grilling holidays - Memorial Day (5/31), Father’s Day (6/20), and July 4th  - are upon us. Even so, cattle futures at $117.85/cwt on 4/23 have leveled out, down from $124.15 on 4/8, and (not counting 2020’s $85.95) are at 9-year lows for this time of year.