NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY – WEEK ENDING 02/24/2024

By USDA-MO Dept of Ag Market News

RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total

This Week: 281,800 40,200 57,900 379,900

Last Week: 247,300 52,700 6,700 306,700

Year Ago: 188,200 61,700 6,000 255,900

Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold 3.00 to 7.00 higher. Demand reported as good to very good in most locations this week, especially in mid to later week sales after higher trends in the CME Cattle Complex on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The fall months of the Feeder Cattle contracts are highly attractive, and backgrounders want to make sure they have cattle to sell during that time, which is really making the market very active.

Cattle producers have seen little reason to delay selling their home raised feeder cattle as the market has been so attractive.

Calving season is nearing in the Northern Plains, another reason for cow/calf operators to get their last year’s crop of cattle sold to make room in the corrals for calving heifers and cows.

Supply was heavy again this week at auctions as the average of the last 4 weeks of auction receipts tallied near 280K, that would be 90K more than the previous 3-year average for the same time period. Buyers continue to pay more each week for cattle as grass fever is in full swing and the first signs of spring seems to be arriving early. Early springtime temperatures are giving ranchers optimism moving forward; however, they may get whacked back a little bit with temps dipping down into single digits this week in the North Plains.

The Southern Plains will also see a sharp decrease; however, it will be muted compared to the North. Very good demand for bred heifers and cows as buyers held their hands high and took ownership of the lots coming through the ring. Most cattlemen are short on mother cows and are trying to get back to par on numbers their pastures can carry for a grazing season. Hay carry-over could be rather large this year as many producers sowed some type of forage to maybe take advantage of higher forage prices.

However, in Kansas, producers are wanting to sell grinding alfalfa, but buyers are few and far between as feedyards harvested more silage than normal last summer/early fall so they could be covered on rations.

Those producers are also expecting more lower quality alfalfa and sudan to be carried over, due to the unusually high temps of the last couple weeks.

This will be the largest carryover in a few years in Kansas and Nebraska.

Friday’s cattle on feed report was viewed as somewhat bearish and could cause a minor hick up as the week starts but overall, the story of supplies hasn’t changed despite large numbers coming to the market in a short amount of time.

On Feed number was reported at 100 pct of a year ago, Placements at 93 pct and Marketings at 100 pct.

Placements for the most part due to extremely limited movement in January due to holidays and winter weather.

Live sales of negotiated cash fed cattle trade in the Southern Plains sold 2.00 to 3.00 higher at 182.00 to 183.00. In Nebraska, live sales sold 3.00 higher at 183.00, while the dressed sales sold 5.00 higher at 292.00. A year ago, live sales were at 164.00 and dressed sales were at 262.00.

Choice boxed beef closed the week 4.41 higher at 300.61 while Select was 0.35 lower at 286.31 for the same period.

Weekly Cattle Slaughter under federal inspection estimated at 593K,

15K less than last week and 21K less than a year ago. Eight weeks into the new year and YTD cattle slaughter is over 5 pct less than a year ago.

Auction volume this week included 59% weighing over 600 lbs and 42% heifers.