Placements of cattle into U.S. feedlots dropped in March.
The USDA says the 1.746 million head placed in March fell 12% on the year, a bigger than expected decline because of aggressive movement in February following the weather-related slowdown in January, along with generally tighter supplies in many of the major feeding areas.
March marketings were down 14% at 1.706 million head while the total number of cattle on feed at the start of April was up 1% to 11.821 million head, a signal that even with those lower placements, show lists are starting to show a seasonal increase.
