Cattle feeders are fattening 9.8 million head for slaughter, says USDA in its monthly Cattle on Feed report, 2 percent fewer than last Aug 1 and down from the July 1 figure of 10.1 million head. CattleNetwork says the feedlot occupancy rate was 58 percent this month. “Feedyard manangers…are looking at a lot of unused bunk space,” it said. Some 1.57 million head were moved into feedlots during July, down 7 percent from the year-earlier figure.
“Favorable weather and forage conditions in much of the country likely will keep more calves on pasture later into the season this year than we’ve seen the past couple years when many producers were forced to wean calves early due to forage shortages. Placements into feedyards likely will remain historically low through the rest of this year, but should pick up later in the fall and early winter,” said CattleNetwork.