# Do we really have a cattle shortage? Not really. | TSLN.com

> An analysis of USDA's cattle inventory report argues the feeder cattle shortage is overstated. Estimated feeder supply outside feedlots was 26.1 million head, down 607,000 from a year earlier. The calf crop rose only 2 percent against a 3.5 percent cowherd increase.

- Date: 2018-02-23 · published 2018-02-23T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude low
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/66633-do-we-really-have-a-cattle-shortage-not-really-tsln-com
- Commodities: [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

If feeder supplies are larger than the shortage narrative suggests, calf and feeder prices could face less upward pressure. Buyers may see more supply than the market expects.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: bearish ▼

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| FCATTLE | 2018-02-22 | [Resources available when making cattle marketing decisions \| TSLN.com](https://feedsoft.ai/events/66629-resources-available-when-making-cattle-marketing-decisions-tsln-com.md) | -1.3% | -6.7% |
| FCATTLE | 2018-06-29 | [Feeder Cattle Auction report \| West Plains Daily Quill](https://feedsoft.ai/events/64679-feeder-cattle-auction-report-west-plains-daily-quill.md) | +3.7% | +3.7% |
| FCATTLE | 2021-09-27 | [Cattle, hog futures react to Friday's USDA reports - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/45189-cattle-hog-futures-react-to-friday-s-usda-reports-brownfield-ag-news.md) | -1.2% | +0.5% |
| FCATTLE | 2017-01-03 | [Cattle Outlook: Less Beef in Cold Storage During November
						 \| The Cattle Site](https://feedsoft.ai/events/73120-cattle-outlook-less-beef-in-cold-storage-during-november-the-cattle-site.md) | -0.9% | -5.9% |
| FCATTLE | 2017-02-24 | [Feeder cattle futures were sharply lower - Brownfield Ag News](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8680-feeder-cattle-futures-were-sharply-lower-brownfield-ag-news.md) | -1.4% | +6.8% |

## Sources

- tsln.com: https://www.tsln.com/news/do-we-really-have-a-cattle-shortage-not-really/

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