Pre-report estimates were released yesterday for Friday’s upcoming Cattle on Feed report. Consensus developed on a strong marketings number over the same number of days as last year putting daily average slaughter up about 3,000 head per day ahead of last year. Slaughter ready cattle imported from Canada was very close to 2021 for the month, indicating marketings are likely to be similar to slaughter levels seen in September.
Placements are viewed as below a year ago, but the range was wide - 91.8% to 99% of prior year. Drought continues to influence cattle feeding. Analysts wrestled this month with lower feeder cattle volumes showing up in weekly receipts and a slip in the feeder cattle index volume.
Imports from Mexico and Canada were both below 2021 by a combined 23,000 head. Canada which had been sending more feeder cattle to the U.S. has returned to historic levels. Mexico remains below a year ago. Seasonally, September is a large placement month, while October is usually the largest.
Drought made last year’s September value large and flattened the normally high peak in October. Placement volumes have followed last year very similarly. Average pre-report estimates show similar expectations to last year, where placements across multiple months are more similar to each other, and lack the more defined seasonality of the past.
Daily Livestock Report - Steiner Consulting Group
