Fewer Cattle Placed, More Cattle on Feed

By Josh Maples

USDA’s Cattle on Feed report showed September 1 inventory in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity was 11.16 million head, up 0.7 percent from a year ago. The on-feed number was above a year-ago levels but was below pre-report estimates. This was a particularly interesting report that showed declining placements and marketings despite the higher overall on-feed number.

The big surprise came from the placements data which showed sharply lower placements into feedlots than most analysts expected pre-report. August placements were reported at 1.62 million head, down 9.2 percent from 1.78 million last August.