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LIVESTOCK
KANSAS AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS
Kansas Department of Agriculture
PO Box 3534
Topeka, KS 66601-3534
Phone: 785-233-2230
Released: April 14, 2000
Volume 00, No. 4
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                                  Text Box
                                INCLUDED IN
                                THIS ISSUE:
                                   CATTLE
                                  ON FEED
                              ANNUAL SLAUGHTER
                                   TURKEY
                                  HATCHERY
                                    WOOL
                                 PRODUCTION
                                  & VALUE
                            MARKET IMPLICATIONS
  ------------------------------------------------------------------------
                           KANSAS CATTLE ON FEED
The number of cattle on feed on April 1, 2000, in Kansas feedlots with
1,000 head or more capacity totaled 2.28 million head (see table 1), up 10
percent from a year ago but 2 percent below the number on hand March 1,
2000, according to Kansas Agricultural Statistics.
Placements during March totaled 400,000 head, down 9 percent from a year
ago and 5 percent below February 2000 placements of 420,000 head.
Marketings during March totaled 420,000 head, 11 percent above March 1999
but 2 percent below February 2000. Other disappearance was 20,000 head,
twice the number from a year ago and the previous month. The percent of
March placements by weight was: under 600 pounds, 12.5 percent; 600-699
pounds, 20 percent; 700-799 pounds, 40 percent; and 800 pounds or heavier,
27.5 percent. Of the total number of cattle on feed, 59 percent were steer
and steer calves, 41 percent heifer and heifer calves, and less than 1
percent were cows and bulls.
Table 1-- CATTLE ON FEED, PLACEMENTS, MARKETINGS, AND OTHER DISAPPEARANCE,
1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, by State and United States
             Number on Feed 1/                                Other Dis-
                                       March        March     appearance
                                    Placements   Marketings   During Mar.
  State               April 1                                     2/
          Mar. 1
          2000                 % of
                 1999   2000        1999  2000   1999  2000  1999   2000
                               '99
          -----1,000 Head----- (%)   -------------------------------1,000
                                     Head-------------------------------
 AZ         275    214    273  128    39     30    27    27     1       5
 CA         405    385    405  105    55     59    50    51     5       8
 CO       1,180  1,120  1,170  104   240    250   240   250    10      10
 ID         305    280    320  114    58     69    49    47     4       7
 IA         375    360    375  104    57     57    56    56     1       1
 KS       2,320  2,080  2,280  110   440    400   380   420    10      20
 NE       2,310  2,180  2,310  106   380    400   350   390    10      10
 NM         105     94     93   99    13     13    24    22     2       3
 OK         400    345    380  110    69     73    86    87     3       6
 SD         200    182    200  110    45     34    46    32     1       2
 TX       2,830  2,560  2,760  108   530    520   565   570    15      20
 WA         210    179    221  123    46     53    42    38     6       4
 Other
 States     415    415    405   98    59     58    71    63     3       5
 7-St 3/  9,695  8,899  9,573  108  1,741  1,716 1,668 1,764   52      74
    U.S.  11,330 10,394 11,192 108  2,031  2,016 1,986 2,053   71     101
1/ Being fattened for slaughter market on grain or other concentrates to
grade select or better. 2/ Includes death losses, movement from feedlots to
pastures and shipments to other feedlots. 3/ Arizona, California, Colorado,
Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Texas.
                            U.S. CATTLE ON FEED
Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States from
feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.19 million head on
April 1, 2000 (see table 1). The inventory was 8 percent above April 1,
1999, and 11 percent above April 1, 1998. The inventory included 6.79
million steers and steer calves, up 8 percent from the previous year. This
group accounts for 61 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer
calves accounted for 4.35 million head, up 7 percent from 1999. Placements
in feedlots during March totaled 2.02 million, 1 percent below 1999, but 18
percent above 1998. Net placements were 1.92 million. During March,
placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 331,000,
600-699 pounds were 406,000, 700-799 pounds were 715,000, and 800 pounds
and greater were 564,000. Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled
2.05 million, 3 percent above 1999 and 10 percent above 1998.
Other disappearance totaled 101,000 during March, 42 percent above 1999 and
7 percent above 1998.
Cattle on feed April 1, 2000, in the historic 7 States for feedlots with
capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 9.57 million, up 8 percent from the
previous year and 11 percent above April 1, 1998. The inventory included
5.74 million steers and steer calves, up 7 percent from the previous year.
This group accounts for 60 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and
heifer calves accounted for 3.80 million head, up 8 percent from 1999.
Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.72 million, 1 percent below
1999 but 21 percent above 1998. Marketings during March totaled 1.76
million, 6 percent above 1999 and 12 percent above 1998. Other
disappearance during March was 74,000 head, 42 percent above 1999 and 7
percent above 1998.
Table 2- -CATTLE ON FEED: NUMBER PLACED ON FEED BY WEIGHT GROUP, 1,000+
CAPACITY FEEDLOTS ,
by State and United States, 1999-2000
                                    Placed in March
     State     Under 600    600-699    700-799    800 Plus      Total
               1999  2000 1999  2000  1999  2000 1999  2000  1999   2000
               -------------------------------------------------1,000 Head
                   -------------------------------------------------
 CO              50    26   55    57    82    91   53    76    240    250
 KS              45    50  105    80   190   160  100   110    440    400
 NE              38    45   67    63   148   154  127   138    380    400
 TX             109   100  165   140   204   190   52    90    530    520
 Other States   115   110   76    66   120   120  130   150    441    446
 US             357   331  468   406   744   715  462   564  2,031  2,016
Table 3-- CATTLE ON FEED: NUMBER ON FEED BY CLASS, 1,000+ FEEDLOTS,
by Quarter, State, and United States, 1999-2000
           Steer & Steer Calves     Heifers & Heifer     Cows and Bulls
                                        Calves
   State    Apr.           Apr.   Apr.           Apr.   Apr.  Jan.   Apr.
             1,   Jan. 1,   1,     1,   Jan. 1,   1,     1,    1,     1,
           1999    2000   2000   1999    2000    2000  1999  2000   2000
            --------------------------------------------------1,000 Head
                 -------------------------------------------------
 CO          695     650    680    420     520     485     5    10      5
 KS        1,210  *1,360  1,340    860    *940     930    10    10     10
 NE        1,280   1,340  1,370    885     940     920    15    20     20
 TX        1,380   1,550  1,480  1,179   1,349   1,279     1     1      1
 Other     1,728   1,940  1,915    709     825     736    17    20     21
 States
 U.S.      6,293  *6,840  6,785  4,053  *4,574   4,350    48    61     57
* Revised.
        BEEF, PORK, AND RED MEAT PRODUCTION SET RECORD HIGHS IN 1999
Red meat production in commercial plants and on farms for the United States
totaled 46.3 billion pounds in 1999. This was 2 percent higher than the
previous record high set in 1998. Red meat includes beef, veal, pork, and
lamb and mutton. Red meat production in commercial plants totaled 46.1
billion pounds.
Beef production, at 26.5 billion pounds, was up 3 percent from a year
earlier and 2 percent higher than the previous record high set in 1976.
Pork production, at 19.3 billion pounds, eclipsed the previous record high
set a year earlier by 2 percent.
Commercial cattle slaughter during 1999 totaled 36.1 million head, up 2
percent from 1998, with federal inspection comprising 98.2 percent of the
total. The average live weight was 1,210 pounds, up 7 pounds from a year
ago. Steers comprised 49.6 percent of the total federally inspected
slaughter, heifers 32.8 percent, dairy cows 7.3 percent, other cows 8.5
percent, and bulls 1.8 percent
Commercial hog slaughter totaled 101.5 million head, up 1 percent from 1998
with 98.2 percent of the hogs slaughtered under federal inspection. The
average live weight was up 3 pounds from last year, at 259 pounds. Barrow
and gilts comprised 96.3 percent of the total federally inspected
slaughter.
                              TURKEY HATCHERY
Turkey eggs in incubators on April 1, 2000, in the United States totaled
32.6 million, down 3 percent from April 1 a year ago. Eggs in incubators
were up 5 percent from the March 1 total of 31.1 million. Regional percent
changes from the previous year were: EN Central, down 5; WN Central, down
13; N & S Atlantic, up 6; S Central, up 6; and West, unchanged. The 25.8
million poults placed during March 2000 in the United States were down 1
percent from the placements during the same month a year ago. Placements
were up 7 percent from the February 2000 total of 24.2 million. Regional
percent changes from the previous year were; EN Central, down 4; WN
Central, down 3; N & S Atlantic, up 4; S Central, up 3; and West, down 4.
                              WOOL PRODUCTION
Kansas shorn wool production during 1999 (see table 4) was 630,000 pounds,
down 3 percent from a year earlier. Sheep shorn, at 90,000 head, showed a 3
percent decrease from 1998. Average fleece weight from shorn wool was 7.0
pounds per head, unchanged from 1998. The average price paid for wool sold
in 1999 was 19 cents per pound, down 23 cents from 1998. Total value of
shorn wool was $120,000, down 56 percent from 1998. U.S. shorn wool
production during 1999 was 46.5 million pounds, down 5 percent from 1998.
Sheep and lambs shorn totaled 6.15 million head, a decrease of 4 percent
from 1998. The average price paid for wool sold in 1999 was 38 cents per
pound for a total value of $17.9 million, down 39 percent from $29.4
million in 1998.
 Table 4-- WOOL PRODUCTION AND VALUE
 Year     Sheep     Weight per      Shorn Wool       Price per    Value
        Shorn 1/     Fleece         Production        Pound
       1,000 Head    Pounds        1,000 Pounds      Dollars    1,000 Dol.
 Kansas
 1998          93     7.00                    650      0.42           273
 1999          90     7.00                    630      0.19           120
 United States
 1998       6,428     7.66                 49,255      0.60        29,415
 1999       6,150     7.57                 46,549      0.38        17,852
1/ Includes shearing at commercial feedyards.
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                                  Text Box
MARKET IMPLICATIONS - Provided by Jim Mintert, Extension Ag Economist at
KSU - Research & Extension Service
Western Kansas slaughter cattle prices generally reach a peak in late March
or April. Prices this year have followed the typical seasonal pattern as
slaughter cattle prices in western Kansas climbed to $73 in mid-March,
dropped back to $72 at the end of March and recovered to $73 in mid-April.
Cash prices have rallied $5 per cwt. since the first of the year. Western
Kansas slaughter cattle prices averaged near $70 during the January-March
2000 quarter, up almost 11 percent compared to a year ago. And the average
price for slaughter steers during March 2000 topped $71 for the first time
since November 1996.
The strength in live cattle and boxed beef prices has all been attributable
to strong demand as average daily beef production during 2000 (through
mid-April) was actually up over 2 percent compared to the year ago period.
Total cattle slaughter during this period was 1.5% larger than in 1999 and
dressed cattle weights averaged 0.8% heavier than in 1999.
Part of the increase in cattle weights was attributable to a shift in the
slaughter mix towards more steer and heifer (i.e., fed) slaughter and less
cow slaughter, but part of the weight increase was also attributable to
heavy fed cattle weights. But fed cattle weights showed signs of backing
off in late March. For example, dressed steer weights fell below a year ago
3 out of 4 weeks in March and live weights in the Oklahoma/Texas Panhandle
region actually fell 2% below a year ago the last week of March. Fed cattle
weights could remain below a year ago during much of the spring quarter as
cattle feeders work their way through last fall and winter's light
placements. If that happens, it could provide some price support and,
perhaps, slow down the expected decline in slaughter cattle prices.
Today's Cattle On Feed report revealed both an April 1 on feed inventory
and fed cattle marketings during March that were close to trade
expectations, but placements during March were larger than expected.
Although March placements did fall below the previous year's level, the 3%
decline in 7-state net placements (gross placements minus other
disappearance) was disappointingly small. Year-to-date, net placements are
still 5% larger than a year ago.
Recent western Kansas cash prices in the low $70's will likely turn out to
be the spring price peak. Slaughter cattle prices are expected to weaken as
the spring quarter progresses as cattle feeders work their way through last
fall and winter's large placements. Odds favor cash prices dropping below
$70 by late May and trading in the high $60's all summer. But placements
are likely to remain below 1999 levels for an extended period and that
suggests slaughter cattle supplies will tighten by fall. As a result, cash
prices are expected to rally from the upper $60's this summer to the low to
mid-$70's this fall.
This week's stock market decline did not spill over into the livestock
complex. But the decline in stock prices is troubling because growth in
consumer income and consumers' willingness to spend a growing percentage of
their income has been a contributing factor to the strength in red meat
demand observed in 1999 and early 2000. If the stock market decline
precipitates weakness in the U.S. economy and, ultimately, consumer
spending, it could signal the end of the red meat demand boom experienced
in 1999 and early 2000.
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Doug Hartwig & John Cole, Agricultural Statisticians
Eldon J. Thiessen, State Statistician
Eddie Wells, Deputy State Statistician
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