USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report

USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report on Friday showed U.S. cattle placed on feed in March at 100 percent from a year ago, in line with analyst expectations of placements at around 100.1 percent, according to a pre-report survey by Urner Barry.Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.8 million head on March 1, 2017. The inventory was slightly above March 1, 2016.Ahead of the report, analysts noted in the Daily Livestock Report, published by Steiner Consulting Group, that what stood out is the variance in analyst estimates of the number of cattle placed on feed during February. "On average analysts polled by Urner Barry expect placements in February to be 1.2 percent lower than a year ago, but some believe placements could be down as much as 6 percent from last year, while three of the analysts polled expect placements to be up by around 3 percent compared to last year," they wrote.Placements in feedlots during February totaled 1.69 million head, 1 percent below 2016. Net placements were 1.64 million head. During February, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 315,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 330,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 490,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 395,000, 900-999 pounds were 124,000, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 40,000 head.Marketings of fed cattle during February totaled 1.65 million head, 4 percent above 2016. Other disappearance totaled 56,000 head during February, 3 percent below 2016.