Yes, larger placements, but let's dig deeper in the report

Feedlot placements bucked seasonal trends in July by declining, but rebounded in August according to USDA’s Cattle on Feed Report. Placements were reported up 2.6 percent over a year ago. The 1.928 million head placed were the most for an August since 2012. While the average pre-report estimates were for placements to be below a year ago, a 2.6 percent increase was within the range of estimates. It’s also interesting to note that the range of pre-report placement estimates was large, about 16 percentage points, reflecting a lot of uncertainty prior to this report. That uncertainty reflected regional placement patterns, red ink in recent closeouts, drought in the Northern Plains, but abundant grass likely holding calves in other regions. All in all, this report was likely a surprise for some market participants. David Anderson, professor and extension economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Texas A&M University, talked to Feed-Lot Magazine about taking a closer look into placements. Read more…