06/26/06 Feedlot placements drop

American Rancher June 26, 2006 Analyst were calling Friday's USDA Cattle on Feed report friendly for the cattle market with the feedlot inventory and placements lower than expected and marketings larger than anticipated. USDA pegged the feedlot inventory as of June 1st at 11.2 million head, four percent more than on June 1st last year. May marketings were up nine percent and placements into feedlots last month were down 14 percent. USDA livestock analyst Shale Shaygum comments on the drop in placements. Shagum: "But don't forget earlier in the year when we move a lot of cattle off of wheat pastures we saw higher than expected levels of animals being placed on feed. Now when you would sometimes expect those animals gong into feedlots instead what we are seeing is just those animals have already been moved and the number of animals out there are down. Now prices for feeder cattle are quite good. Seeing feeder cattle prices in Oklahoma City averaging about $110-$112. Part of that is obviously tied to the fact there are probably not a lot of cattle out there to be moved into feedlots." And Shagum says fed steer prices could now move from the current high 70 dollar a hundredweight range to the low 80's by fall as beef supplies decline. Compared to a year ago the feedlot inventory in Idaho was down six percent. In Washington it was up three percent. I'm Bob Hoff.