July 24

7/24 – The USDA pegged total U.S. cattle inventory on July 1 at 95.9M head, down 2.7% from a year ago and a record low for this data set dating back to 1990. Separately, USDA said feedlot inventories totaled 11.2M head on July 1, down 1.8% from a year ago. New placements onto feedlots in June were 2.7% above a year ago, following a 5% increase in May. Putting the 2 reports together, ranchers continue to liquidate herds – motivated by poor pasture conditions, high costs (feed, labor, land), and good money for liquidated cattle. Explaining the bump in placements, Oklahoma was up 39% reflecting drought issues; Minnesota up 30% on live imports from Canada; Arizona up 19% due to imports from Mexico. The number of heifers on feedlots has not declined from a year ago, so ranchers are not yet retaining females for herd expansion. It’s possible we may not see a significant increase in beef supply until 2027.