Feedlot Placements Down

The Cattle on Feed report that USDA released on Friday showed a one percent drop in placements this February when compared to 2016.

Livestock Analyst Shayle Shagam said it’s a little surprising because margins have been good and there are a lot of cattle, but last year a lot of those placements could be attributed to wheat coming early.

“This year, I think a lot of producers have decided to simply they’re going to be grazing out the wheat.”

Shagam said eventually, though, producers will need to start placing the cattle in the feedlots, and that will likely replace the outgoing cows. That could impact cattle prices.

“We would expect to see some downward pressure on prices during the year.”

Steers are currently around $132 per hundredweight, but could fall as low as $119 per hundredweight this year.