The number of fed steers and heifers Kansas feedlots sold to packers in July dropped from this year’s peak so far in June, putting total numbers closer to last July 2017, according to data collected by the Kansas State University Extension Service and compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Center.
June’s feedlot closeout rate was unsustainable, a market analyst said. It fell way outside the lines of what might be expected unless Kansas feedlot placements in the winter and spring were out of line as well.
The K-State Extension Service each month collects closeout data from a handful of select feedlots around the state, and the LMIC extrapolates the data and publishes the results.
Kansas feed yards in July sent an average of 5,747 head to slaughter in July, down 926, or 13.9%, from the year-to-date high of 6,673 in June. However, it was 677, or 13.4%, above last July’s 5,070 head and 1,624 head, or 39.4%, above the 4,123 2012-2016 average.
CLOSEOUT WEIGHTS MIXED
But while the number of head sold to packer buyers was well above last year and the previous five-year average, the final weights of steers and heifers was mixed.
Exit weights of steers in July dropped counter-seasonally, averaging 1,366 pounds, down 16, or 1.16%, from 1,382 in June and four pounds, or 0.29%, below the 1,370 pounds of a year earlier. It was even 31 pounds, or 2.22%, below the 2012-2016 average of 1,397 pounds.
That could be seen as unusual since the average daily gain for steers that exited the feedlot in July was up from June and followed a more seasonal upward path.
But closeout weights for heifers more closely followed a seasonal curve, tipping slightly higher in July while maintaining their position above last year and the previous five-year average.
Kansas feedlot closeout weights for heifers in July averaged 1,255 pounds, up five, or 0.40%, from June’s 1,250 pounds. Heifer weights also were up 53, or 4.41%, from June 2017’s 1,202 pounds, and up 19, or 1.54%, from the 1,236-pound five-year average.
DAYS ON FEED DIP
The average number of days that July closeouts from Kansas feedlots spent on feed declined for steers and heifers. For steers, the number was 169 days, the same as a year earlier but above the 2012-2016 average of 158.4 days. The latest number was below June’s 179 days.
The heifers sold to packer buyers in July from Kansas feedlots spent an average of 167 days on feed, down from June’s year-to-date high of 180 days but above the July 2017 figure of 163 days. It also was above the 2012-2016 average of 153.2 days.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
No fed cattle sold Wednesday on the Livestock Exchange Video Auction, compared with 280 that traded two weeks previous at $109.50 per cwt.
Cash cattle traded last week at mostly $107 to $108 per cwt on a live basis, down $1.50 to $2 from the previous week, and at $168 to $170 on a dressed basis, down $2 to $4.
The USDA choice cutout Thursday was down $1.65 per cwt at $208.75, while select was off $3.08 at $197.83. The choice/select spread widened to $10.92 from $9.49 with 128 loads of fabricated product sold into the spot market.
The CME Feeder Cattle index for the seven days ended Wednesday, was $151.04 per cwt, up $0.44. This compares with Thursday’s Sep settlement of $151.77, up $0.05.