Cattle Board Surging, But Signs-of-Exhaustion

Looking at the fed cattle market, the repercussions from winter storms continue to support finished cattle bids. Nearly a month of placements were shelved in January and delayed during the severe cold weather. The January cattle feedlot placement number could potentially be a record low.  But there will also be a significant increase in February placements. This feedlot placement recovery may not be felt by the market until March. Now the watch is on beef production. Some cattle are weighing less, but when push comes to shove, there may not be much of a change in overall beef production. Remember, cattle on feed numbers continue to be large.