Cattle On Feed Lowest Since 1999

A new report shows the number of cattle in Kansas feedlots is down 2 percent for the lowest June inventory since 1999.

The National Agricultural Statistics Service said Friday that Kansas feedlots contained 2.02 million cattle on feed on June 1st. The report counts animals in the larger feedlots with capacities of 1,000 or more head.

The low numbers come despite the fact that placements during May totaled 435,000 head, up 1 percent from May 2013.

Marketings of fed cattle in May totaled 400,000 head, down 2 percent from last year.

June’s low feedlot count reflects the aftermath of widespread drought that sent huge numbers of livestock to slaughter last year, shrinking the size of the nation’s cattle herd.