Cattle placements in US feedlots lowest on record for a March: USDA

Houston — The number of US cattle placed in to feedlots during March totaled 1.557 million head, down 22.6% from 2.014 million head on March 2019, the US Department of Agriculture said Friday.

"Placements were the lowest for March since the series began in 1996," the USDA said in a statement.

The number of US cattle on feed totaled 11.297 million head on April 1, down 4.3% from 11.811 million head on March 1, USDA said.

The latest total of US cattle on feed was down 5.4% from 11.953 million head on the year-ago date.

As the demand of corn for ethanol production has eroded considerably, the market is now paying more attention to demand for corn to feed cattle, a market participant said.

The states with the largest inventory of cattle on feed were Texas at 2.76 million head, Nebraska at 2.39 million head and Kansas at 2.29 million head, the USDA said. These three states represent 65.8% of the total US cattle on feed, it added.

According to the USDA, placements are steers and heifers put into a feedlot, fed a ration which will produce a carcass that will grade select or better, and are intended for the slaughter market.

Cattle on feed are steers and heifers being fed a ration of grain, mostly corn, silage, hay and/or a protein supplement such as dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS) or soybean meal, ahead of slaughter. It excludes cattle held back for later sale to feedlots, and only feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 animals, or more, are considered.

The cattle on feed and placements data is an indicator of US demand for corn and DDGS.