Fewer Cattle Placements During June

Feedlot inventories remained slightly lower than their year-ago figures in Friday’s Cattle On Feed report. USDA says the nation’s feedlots had 11,290,000 head on hand to start July, down one percent from a year ago and a net drop of 409-thousand during the month of June. Placements fell seven percent to 1,670,000, a larger-than-expected drop, while marketings increased three percent to 2,022,000.

USDA also released the semi-annual cattle inventory count Friday. The nation’s cattle count slipped one percent compared to a year ago, as 100.9 million cattle were on hand to start July. Calf crop was steady at 35.1 million head, calved from 40.9 million cows and heifers. Steers over 500 pounds decreased by 200-thousand head to 14.5 million, while bulls at the same weight remained steady at 2.1 million.