Cattle placements down, May 1st inventory record large

The USDA says 1.809 million cattle were placed into U.S. feedlots during April.

That’s down 1% on the year but still towards the upper end of pre-report estimates and comes as drought continues to impact pastures conditions in some of the major feeding areas and relatively high feed prices cut into producers’ bottom lines. About half of those cattle weighed between 700 and 900 pounds, heading to market in late summer or early fall.

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