February cattle placements drop 7% on year

February cattle placements drop 7% on year

The USDA says the number of cattle placed into U.S. feedlots in February fell sharply.

The total of 1.734 million head was down 7% on the year, towards the low end of pre-report estimates, and the sixth months in a row with a decline.

Drought continues to be an issue in some of the major U.S. feeding areas, feed costs are still relatively high, and a large number of cattle were pulled forward during 2022.

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