# Focus: Shrinking US cattle herd squeezes meatpacker profits

> Reuters reports that the US cattle herd has shrunk to its smallest since 1962 as drought and high feed costs pushed producers to send animals to slaughter. Feedlot operators have gained leverage over meatpackers such as Tyson in sales negotiations.

- Date: 2023-05-04 · published 2023-05-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: market · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/35879-focus-shrinking-us-cattle-herd-squeezes-meatpacker-profits
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

A smaller supply of cattle tightens slaughter volumes and shifts margin pressure onto packers, which supports cattle prices while squeezing packer profitability.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: bullish ▲
- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Sources

- reuters.com: https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/shrinking-us-cattle-herd-squeezes-meatpacker-profits-2023-05-04/

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.