Market News & Headlines >> Feedlot Inventory Seen Unchanged from 2021

USDA is expected to report that the number of cattle in U.S. feedlots as of Sept. 1 was unchanged from a year earlier in the wake of strong August feedlot marketings and reduced monthly placements of cattle on feed.

Trade estimates of the Sept. 1 feedlot inventory average 100.0% of a year earlier in a range from 99.0%-101.3%, according to a Reuters News Service survey of 10 livestock analysts. At the average of trade estimates, the Sept. 1 feedlot inventory would total 11.234 million head and would still be 10,000 head larger than a month earlier and 186,000 head larger than the five-year average for the date.

Pre-report estimates of August feedlot marketings average 105.9% of a year earlier in a range from 105.0%-106.5%. At the average of trade estimates, August marketings would total 1.995 million head and would be the largest since 2011.

Pre-report expectations for August feedlot placements average 97.3% of a year earlier in a range from 93.2%-100.9%. At the average of trade expectations, August placements would total 2.046 million head, down 57,000 from a year earlier and would be the smallest in three years.