More cattle are being fed for the slaughter market than a year ago, a government report says.
The increase is very small, however, so the effect, if any, on the buoyant cattle market is uncertain. Tight cattle supplies have pushed beef prices to record highs.
A total of 10.6 million cattle were being fed for slaughter on Nov. 1, 48,000 more than a year earlier, according to the monthly cattle on feed report from the National Agricultural Statistics Service, an arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The report was released on the afternoon of Nov. 22, as this week's issue of Agweek was being finalized.
Tim Petry, livestock marketing specialist with the North Dakota State University Extension Service, talked with Agweek before the report was released.
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He said he expected the new number to be "very near" the November 2013 number, which is what the report found.
Other key numbers from the new report:
• 2,357 cattle were placed on feed in October, down from 2,378 in October 2013.
• 1,685 fed cattle were marketed in October, down from 1,827 in October 2013.
Because the cattle market is so strong and corn prices relatively low, feedlots are keeping cattle longer and feeding them heavier, reducing the number of marketings, Petry said.
Cattle on feed are animals fed grain, silage hay or a protein supplement for slaughter to produce a carcass that will receive a prime, choice or select grade.
