The USDA says cattle placements into feedlots declined 2 percent on the year.
University of Missouri livestock economist Scott Brown says that’s outside the upper-end of pre-report expectations.
“Imports matter in this discussion (and) we are seeing pretty heavy imports, which is not surprising when we talk about record or near-record prices to see cattle moving into the U.S. to try to fill feedlots.”
He tells Brownfield cattle are still being pulled forward, which means supplies could get tighter later in 2024.
