Cattle Inventories Continue To Get Tighter

The U.S. cattle inventory and feedlots continues to contract.  USDA livestock analyst Michael McConnell said when it comes to the December cattle on feed report.

“Inventory levels are getting tighter, 2% lower than a year ago. That's mainly the result of relatively tight cattle supplies that we have in the United States. It's also been particularly exacerbated by the lack of cattle imports coming in from Mexico, as currently we're not allowed to be imported from Mexico due to concerns about the new world screwworm cases that have occurred in Mexico over the past year or so. And that shows up in the cattle on feed report with particularly tight supply in the southern feeding regions, particularly places like Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado.”

McConnell added placements in feedlots were down 11% year over-year, and at 1.6 million head, the lowest for November since the series began in 1996.  Marketings, meanwhile, were down 12% from 2024’s numbers.  At 1.52 million head, that would be the second lowest marketing number since 1996.

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