Cattle On Feed Bounce Higher Than Anticipated

America’s feedlots had 11,725,000 head on hand to start May, a larger-than-expected jump from last year’s Covid-induced drop in populations.  The month report from USDA indicated that placements during April were up 27 percent from a year ago at 1,821,000, while the number of cattle marketed increased 33 percent at 1,938,000.  This month’s population was the second-largest May population on record, nearly 80,000 behind the level set in 2019.