Cattle on Feed: Aggressive Pricing Amid Inventory Jumps
Market watchers weren’t too surprised to see increases in Friday’s Cattle on Feed report. But how fast the market is moving to handle the influx of cattle has been a shock for many.
“We're growing the cowherd,” Scott Dryer told Tyne Morgan on AgDay. “It's no surprise that we're going to continue to place know more cattle as we go forward and we're probably going to continue to grow this cowherd as we continue to work forward in time.”
What is important is how cattle are being marketed, he adds.
Marketings have continued to be aggressive, so feedlot inventories have not become overburdened. Nine of the past 12 months have shown placements at more than 10% ahead of the prior year, says Katelyn McCullock, economist, American Farm Bureau Federation.
As those supplies grow, can the multiple influences on the market hold that balance into 2018? Dryer says it’s very possible to see this trend carry through the first months of 2018, as retailers work through Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays.
“If we can have good retail demand and continue on this as we work into the first of the year. I think we're going to be fine,” he says.
Listen to his full analysis of where the cattle market is heading in the video above.
