May Feedlots Numbers Hit Record

The inventory for cattle and calves in feedlots on May 1 was 11.6 million head, making it the second-highest inventory number for May.

"We are actually looking at an increasing in inventory of cattle, so there was a bigger pool of calves who were born last year, which are available for placement this year," said USDA Livestock Analyst Shayle Shagam.  "You also have dry conditions in a number of states, which has probably resulted in a fair number of animals which might have been on grass and on forage in the Southern Plains being placed in feedlots instead."

However, placements in feedlots, year over year, are down by 8%.

"It does seem like a very sharp decline, but we do have to remember that we are coming off of a very high number last year of 1.85 million head that were placed in April 2017, which was actually the second-highest for the month since the series began."

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