A prior farmdoc report demonstrates the historical relationships of these activities to annual changes in mid-year inventories and can be deployed to project the July 1 total cattle inventory prior to report release. With the resilient domestic beef demand, cold stocks of beef are currently approaching seasonal lows, about 1% below year ago levels, setting the stage for continued high prices ahead. All things considered, cattle prices should again remain near or above year ago levels. These forecasts reflect low cattle inventories, moderate feed costs, and resilient domestic demand. However, if demand falters or if inevident efforts at herd rebuilding become apparent, then lower prices may be realized.