Trade low-balls expectation for cattle placements in latest report

by | Jan 30, 2018 | 5 Ag Stories, News

As cattle producers make money, it is hard for them to keep from expanding their herd. For the past two years, the beef market has stayed mostly in the black, even though some price swings were a bit unnerving.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) last Friday pegged the January 1 feedlot inventory and showed an eight-percent rise over a year ago. A livestock economist from a major cattle feeding state reacts to major aspects of the report. The report?s findings were not a surprise, but the upward trend in herd expansion seems to be more elevated than expected.

The USDA released its first Cattle on Feed report for the year, based on figures collected during December 2017. Ron Hays, with the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network, reached out to Oklahoma State University (OSU) Extension Livestock Market Economist Dr. Derrell Peel for his initial reaction to the numbers found in this report.