USDA: More Cattle In Feed Lots

11.5 million head of cattle and calves in feed-lots, that was the USDA count as we start 2018.  That number is 8% more than in January of last year, and as we get into spring and summer,

"Those are cattle that'll be coming out of the feed-lot and will be pressuring cattle prices," said Agriculture Department Livestock Analyst Shayle Shagam.  He said unless there is a major up-tick in beef demand, federal cattle prices will succumb to that price pressure.

"Probably, a lot of it showing up in the second quarter as a lot of these cattle that are currently in feed-lots come out. But for the year, we do expect to see prices averaging a little above 118-dollars for the year, compared to about $122 for the year in 2017."

Leading feed-lots with a negative margin for awhile, but they've been negative since the middle of last year.  Most cattle-calf operators are still managing some small positive returns, as are beef packers.  Shagam said the choices consumers make between larger supplies of all of the meats will be keys to watch and will help drive what happens to cattle prices.