![]() cattle industry accounted for about $64 billion in receipts in 2016, according to USDA. Determining whether it is advisable to request additional exceptions from information disclosure restrictions from Congress would help USDA strengthen its oversight. Reviewing the extent to which these data can be shared with P&SP provides an opportunity to enhance P&SP's oversight of the fed cattle market. In November 2017, USDA reorganized P&SP under AMS and officials said it was too early in the reorganization to determine whether AMS would view routine sharing of these data any differently. The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 specifies that the Secretary of Agriculture may authorize the sharing of these data for enforcement purposes, which USDA interprets as an ongoing investigation, not market monitoring. Those data are collected by AMS's price reporting group, which does not routinely share them with P&SP because officials said it is prohibited by statute from doing so. The Packers & Stockyards Program (P&SP), which oversees the cattle industry within USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), does not have routine access to daily data for transactions between feedlot operators, which produce fed cattle, and packers. However, to better align futures contracts with the actual fed cattle market, CFTC reviewed changes to contract terms and will continue to monitor those changes. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC)-an agency that regulates cattle futures markets where participants buy and sell standardized agreements for cattle at an agreed-upon price at a specified date in the future-did not find evidence of trading irregularities in the cattle futures market in 2015. Department of Agriculture (USDA) also indicated that competition levels among packers that slaughter and process fed cattle did not appear to affect the national price changes in the fed cattle market in 2015 but that areas of the country with less competition among packers had lower cattle prices.įed Cattle Prices in Relation to the U.S. GAO's analysis of cattle market data from the U.S. According to industry experts and GAO's analysis, a drought from late 2010 to early 2013 led the cattle inventory to fall and rise and, in turn, fed cattle prices to fluctuate (see figure). This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.Supply and demand factors, such as a drought that affected the price of cattle feed, affected changes in prices of fed cattle-those ready for slaughter from 2013 through 2016. Spam protection has stopped this request. The estimate of the expected calf crop for 2023 will be released on July 21 stas part of the mid-year USDA Cattle Inventory report. However, overall supplies this year are expected to be smaller. Looking ahead, auction receipts will increase seasonally as summer arrives. The percent of cattle weighing above 600 pounds is also lower at 72.6 percent compared to 73.9 percent a year ago. This is about one percent lower than in 2022. The percentage of heifers was 40.9 percent during the first 4 months of 2023. The report also gives information about the mix of steers and heifers and weight ranges and suggests slightly fewer heifers and lighter cattle overall. Compared to the 5-year average from 2017-2021, receipts are one percent lower so far in 2023. These factors have likely led to more cattle moving into feedlots or grow yards earlier than normal. Cattle prices have been significantly stronger this year as compared to a year ago and drought continues to be a key issue in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and other areas which is limiting grazing opportunities. However, the data are most likely indicating market timing differences instead of changes in total cattle inventory. On the surface, the stronger receipts totals are at odds with the 2 percent smaller calf crop in 2022 than in 2021. It does not capture all feeder and stocker cattle transactions and the report notes that “receipts vary depending on the number of auctions reported” – but comparisons over time can be informative when considering current market dynamics to previous years. This dataset includes auction, direct, and video/internet sales that are reported to USDA. Shown in the chart above, receipts have generally followed the seasonal pattern of declining sales through the first four months. Strong prices and persistent drought in some regions likely contributed to these higher totals despite the smaller calf crop in 2022. The number of feeder and stocker cattle sold during the first four months of 2023 was about four percent higher than during the same period in 2022 according to data from the USDA-AMS National Feeder and Stocker Cattle Summary. – Josh Maples, Assistant Professor & Extension Economist, Department of Agricultural Economics, Mississippi State University
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