CHICAGO, Ill. (Reuters) — The latest read of U.S. feedlot numbers supports continued strong cattle prices.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture report showed the number of cattle placed in American feedlots in February was 1.523 million head, down eight percent from 1.658 million last year.
Analysts, on average, had expected a 6.7 percent reduction.
That put the March 1 feedlot cattle supply at 10.658 million head, down one percent from 10.716 million a year ago. Analysts, on average, had forecast a decline of .5 percent.
The report, coupled with stronger than expected U.S. cash cattle prices, lifted the Chicago futures market March 23.
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“All the numbers came on the bullish side of the forecast, but not by much,” said University of Missouri livestock economist Ron Plain.
The USDA said 1.516 million head were sold to packers, which is down two percent from a year ago.
Analysts projected a drop of three percent.
There were the same number of days to market cattle in February as a year ago.
The category for cattle weighing more than 800 pounds was the only weight group in which placements showed an increase, said Plain. That suggests fewer cattle will arrive at feedyards later as heavier animals move through feedlots more quickly, he said.
The report showed last month’s placements for Texas at 70 percent of a year ago, partly because of weather issues and extremely negative feedlot margins, said Livestock Marketing Information Center economist Jessica Sampson.
Last month marked the first time that Nebraska surpassed Texas as the top state for the number of cattle on feed, she said.
