05/20/08 Cattle, dairy price outlook

It looks like the big buildup of cattle in feedlots is about to end. USDA says producers put 1.5 million cattle into feedlots in April but two million head were sold out. SHAGAM "It is a sign hopefully that we are starting to get caught up on our cattle that have been building up on feed. When we looked at the number of cattle placed during April we were down two percent." USDA analyst Shayle Shagam says with all of the cattle coming out today's 92 dollar per hundredweight price on steers could drop to 90 by year's end. SHAGAM "And then as we sort of move into next year we would expect to see those feedlot supplies to tighten. We would expect to see some upward pressure on prices." Dairy prices and production are expected to remain strong through the rest of this year says World Outlook Board chairman Gerry Bange. BANGE "That production growth will probably come from lower cow numbers and just minimal growth and output per cow owing much to the feed price situation." Add to that the international demand which Bange says will keep dairy prices firm especially butter and non-fat dry milk products. BANGE "Bottom line is we've had fairly strong demand for butter and cheese and non fat dry milk that has given us fairy strong Class III and Class IV milk prices. As a matter of fact our Class IV price we would expect to be up sharply about 8.3 percent compared to 2008." Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott