USDA Cattle Report Shows Strong Market Prices Support Higher Feedlot Numbers

Nov 14, 2023

Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist, said the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s October cattle reports indicate markets have not yet recovered from drought in the southern plains.

Peel reviewed October market trends on an episode of “SUNUP,” the agriculture television show of OSU Agriculture, with the following highlights:

Cattle on feed report

Placements were up 106% from 2022.
Marketings were 89% of last year’s total.
The combination of larger placements and lower marketings resulted in a 1% increase from October 2022, the first monthly increase on a year-over-year basis reported in 2023.
Lingering drought and strong market prices support increased placements at feedlots.
Feeder cattle were sold earlier than usual to take advantage of high market prices.
Feedlot supplies are going to be bigger than expected in the near future.

Quarterly heifer and steer report

Heifers on feed were up not only from July but also up slightly from July 2022.
Heifers on feed are currently 40% of the total feedlot inventory — the highest feedlot level for heifers since 2001.
High levels of heifers on feed and heifer slaughter along with strong levels of beef cow slaughter suggest the beef industry is still liquidating females.
Beef cow inventory will be down on Jan. 1, 2024.
The beef industry’s tight supply situation has been extended.

Source : okstate.edu

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.