Ranchers Put More Cattle In Feedlots as Drought Cooks Pastures
- Placements in July rose 1.8%; analysts expected 1.3% decline
- Cattle move off pastures to plump up on corn in feedlots
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The number of cattle sent to American feedlots -- the last stop for fattening them up before slaughter -- unexpectedly jumped in July with drought forcing ranchers to take their animals off pasture.
The arid conditions have been shrinking herds for months, a pace that analysts anticipated was starting to slow. However, there were 1.8% more cattle placed into feedlots, compared to estimates in a Bloomberg survey for a 1.3% decline, a US Department of Agriculture report Friday showed.