The number of slaughter-ready cattle sold to beef packers by Kansas feedlots in May rebounded from April’s low eclipsing the 2014-2018 average and approximating the May-2019 total.
The data came from a monthly survey of select Kansas feedlots by the Kansas State University Extension Service. This data is extrapolated by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver to come up with numbers that approximate the activity of an “average” Kansas feedlot for the month. The results then are published on the LMIC web site.
The data showed that the average Kansas feedlot sold 4,657 head of cattle to the packers in May, up 1,851, or 66.0%, from 2,806 in April. The new number was down 97, or 2.04%, from last year’s 4,754 head but up 492, or 11.8%, from the previous five-year average’s 4,165 head.
April’s sharp decline was credited to slower slaughter capacity as employee illness from the COVID-19 virus either slowed chain speeds or closed plants. However, when feedlot closeouts were graphed, April’s drop doesn’t look all that different from the March drop last year, which was because of severe winter weather.
In both cases, sales to packers from Kansas feedlots saw sharp increases in the following month, forming a V-bottom on line graphs. It’s unclear where monthly Kansas feedlot sales go from here, but if they follow previous years, they will come to a peak in June at about 5,043 head, which will be the annual peak until December.
OUT-WEIGHTS RISE IN MAY
Exit weights of fed steers rose across the US rose in May, and those coming from Kansas feedlots were no exception, the data showed. However, the rise in closeout weights was not out of line with the pattern of previous years.
The K-State survey data showed that exit weights of fed steers from Kansas feedlots this year have been above last year and the 2014-2018 average all year. The data also showed seasonal changes from month to month.
The average sale weight of fed steers from Kansas feedlots in May was 1,427 pounds, up 25, or 1.78%, from 1,402 in April and up 62, or 4.54%, from 1,365 last year as well as up 57, or 4.16%, from the previous five-year average of 1,370 pounds.
If final weights of fed steers follow the seasonal pattern, they will continue to climb until the annual high in November. Last year, the peak came in December.
DAYS ON FEED UP
What showed the biggest difference from the COVID-19 slaughter slowdown was the number of days the cattle sold in May spent on feed.
The data showed the average steer sold for slaughter in May spent 203 days in a Kansas feedlot. This was up 13 days, or 6.84%, from 190 in April. It also was up 13 days, or 6.84%, from 190 a year earlier and up 34.2, or 20.3%, from the previous five-year average of 168.8.
The seasonal average points to steady-to-lower days on feed into October’s annual low.
CATTLE, BEEF RECAP
Fed cattle sold last week at $93 to $96 per cwt on a live basis, down $0.50 to $2 from last week. Dressed-basis sales were at $152 to $155 per cwt, steady to down $1.
The USDA choice cutout Thursday was up $0.06 per cwt at $205.44, while select was up $0.33 at $198.76. The choice/select spread narrowed to $6.68 from $6.95 with 104 loads of fabricated product sold into the spot market.
The CME Feeder Cattle index for the seven days ended Wednesday was $129.05 per cwt, down $0.08. This compares with Thursday’s Aug contract settlement of $134.87, up $1.80.