US cattle on feed up slightly

The USDA released their cattle on feed reports  on Friday, April 21, reporting cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the U.S. for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.9 million head on April 1, 2017. The inventory was slightly above April 1, 2016. The inventory included 7.23 million steers and steer calves, down 2 percent from the previous year. This group accounted for 66 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 3.67 million head, up 5 percent from 2016. Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in Texas feedlots with capacity of 1,000 head or more totaled 2.46 million head on April 1, 2017, down 2 percent from a year ago. Producers placed 460 thousand head in commercial feedlots during March, up 1 percent from a year ago. Texas commercial feeders marketed 425 thousand head during March, up 8 percent from 2016. Download the report at USDA Economics, Statistics, and Market Information System…