This article was originally published at 2:03 p.m. CST on Friday, Feb. 21. It was last updated with additional information at 3:37 p.m. CST on Friday, Feb. 21.
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OMAHA (DTN) -- Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.7 million head on Feb. 1, 2025. The inventory was 1% below Feb. 1, 2024, USDA NASS reported on Friday.
Placements in feedlots during January totaled 1.82 million head, 2% above 2024. Net placements were 1.76 million head. During January, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 365,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 395,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 505,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 382,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 105,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 70,000 head.
Marketings of fed cattle during January totaled 1.87 million head, 1% above 2024.
Other disappearance totaled 60,000 head during January, 26% below 2024.
DTN ANALYSIS
"Believe it or not, Friday's Feb. 1 Cattle on Feed report could be viewed as neutral to somewhat bullish given that Friday's data came in lower than pre-report estimates," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart. "Unfortunately, it seems that all too often, traders simply look at how the actual USDA data compared to that of the pre-report estimates and determine whether they deem the material to be bullish, bearish or somewhere in between as opposed to diving deeper into the context and seeing if the data aligns with what's unfolded out in the countryside.
"It rarely happens that the Cattle on Feed reports lean to the side of bullishness, but there's a fair argument to be had that Friday's report could indeed be found as neutral to somewhat bullish, as both on-feed totals and placements were lighter than expected.
"One may argue that the placement data still 'looks' bearish, as it's greater than a year ago -- up 2% from January 2024 with placements in January totaling 1.822 million head -- but we cannot forget to mention that last year, placements in January were down 7% because of the brutal cold and snow accumulation across the country.
"It was interesting to note the individual state differences for the placement data. For the major feeding states, Iowa saw steady placements compared to a year ago, placements in Nebraska were up 6%, placements in Oklahoma were down 3%, placements in Kansas were up 15% but placements in Texas were down 14%. And with the ban of Mexican cattle imports still in play during the month of January, it makes even more sense that placements were slightly lower for Texas and Oklahoma this past month.
"Needless to say, it's likely that Friday's Cattle on Feed report will be viewed as neutral to somewhat supportive."
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DTN subscribers can view the full Cattle on Feed reports in the Livestock Archives folder under the Markets menu. The report is also available at https://www.nass.usda.gov/….
| USDA Actual | Average Estimate | Range | |
| On Feed Feb. 1 | 99% | 99.3% | 98.8-99.9% |
| Placed in January | 102% | 103.7% | 100.0-106.1% |
| Marketed in January | 101% | 102.1% | 101.3-102.5% |
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