In today’s beef buzz, senior farm and ranch broadcaster Ron Hays speaks with Extension livestock market economist Dr. Derrell Peel, who talked about the November Cattle on Feed Report. He noted that the report showed the cattle on feed inventory “down 2% on a year over year basis,” with October placements at “90% of last year” and marketings at “92% of last year.” Dr. Peel emphasized that the figures were close to expectations and contained “no real surprises in this report.”

Dr. Peel added that the report also filled in the previously missing October data. He explained that the numbers confirm a continued, gradual decline in feedlot inventories. As he put it, “this month of November represents the 12th consecutive month of year over year, decreases in that cattle on feed inventory.” Although the decline is modest—“only 2% down, so it’s been a very slow process”—he suggested that the reductions may compound in the coming months.

The updated breakdown of steers and heifers on feed showed little change in the gender composition. Dr. Peel pointed out that the heifer percentage was “38.1% which is exactly what it was in the July quarterly report.” While the total number of heifers on feed is “95% of a year ago,” their share of the total remains the same, reinforcing the stability of the ratio.

When asked what this indicates about rebuilding the cow herd, Dr. Peel explained that “we aren’t seeing a lot of heifer retention yet.” He noted that the heifer percentage is “probably a little bit inflated, because it does include dairy animals,” but emphasized that “none of that changes the fact that there’s no real indication here of strong heifer retention.” In other words, herd rebuilding efforts have not yet begun in a meaningful way.

The conversation concluded with a look at the beef-on-dairy trend. Dr. Peel observed that these crossbred calves “have more value because they do have improved carcasses from a meat standpoint,” and he added that they are “immensely valuable now, because they are going into this record high beef market.” Still, he cautioned that dairies “may actually have to pull back just slightly in order to produce enough heifers for themselves,” suggesting the industry may have reached the upper limit of beef-on-dairy production.

The Beef Buzz is a regular feature heard on radio stations around the region on the Radio Oklahoma Ag Network and is a regular audio feature found on this website as well. Click on the LISTEN BAR for today’s show and check out our archives for older Beef Buzz shows covering the gamut of the beef cattle industry today.

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