May 29

5/29 - In its May 19th monthly cattle report, the USDA said feedlot inventories totaled 11.6M head on May 1, down 3.4% from a year ago. Total new placements onto feedlots in April were 4.2% below a year ago, and April marketings (from feedlots) were down 10.1%. Cattle slaughter for the 4 weeks headed into Memorial Day weekend was close to 4% below 2022 levels. Year-over-year slaughter declines in the 2.5%-to-3.0% range are expected to continue through summer. In May’s WASDE, the USDA projected a 4.8% drop in beef production for 2023. Over the past 5 months, the USDA has raised its 2023 cattle price forecast from $135.00 to $166.50/cwt. CME cattle futures set a record high at $176.48/cwt in mid-April and closed at $167.35 on Friday (5/26). Forward contracts are averaging $169.33/cwt for the 2nd half of 2023, and a record-high $177.88 for the 1st half of 2024.