News Briefs:
Stocks of meat and poultry in U.S. commercial freezers increased by 6.1% during January, reaching 2.054 billion pounds according to USDA’s monthly Cold storage report released on February 22nd. This was 9.6% higher than one year ago. This increase is shared by the four major species but the largest year-on-year increase belonged to chicken whose stocks were 23.5% larger than last year at 778.3 million pounds.
Source: USDA & CME Group LS. Report
According to USDA’s January 1 Cattle inventory estimates beef cow numbers continue to fall. Continued decline is related to multi-year financial disappointments due to high and volatile feed prices, shortage of pastures in some areas last summer and developing dry conditions in the southeast, central and southern plains. Beef cow numbers at 30.9 million head are down two percent over the past year and down six percent since 2005. Source: USDA & Drovers Cattle Network
The U.S. beef cow herd has decreased 12 of the last 14 years, dropping from a cyclical peak of 35.3 million head in 1996 to the January 2010 level of 31.3 million head. This represents the smallest beef cow herd since 1963. Combined with smaller dairy cow numbers, the 2010 calf crop is expected to be 35.4 million head, the smallest U.S. calf crop since 1950. Total U.S. cattle inventory has decreased by almost 10 million head since 1996 to the January 2010 level of 93.7 million head, the smallest cattle inventory since 1959. Source: Derrell Peel, OSU