Cattle on Feed Report     11/21  15:39

Nov. 1 Cattle on Feed Down 2% From Year Ago, Placements Down 10%

By DTN Staff

                      USDA Actual   Average Estimate*      Range

On Feed Nov. 1            98%            97.9%        96.9-98.6%
Placed in October         90%            92.2%        90.0-95.5%
Marketed in October       92%            92.5%        92.0-93.4%
On Feed Oct. 1            98%            98.1%        97.4-98.4%
Placed in September       94%            91.3%        88.1-94.0%
Marketed in September     96%            96.2%        93.0-97.2%

* Estimates compiled by Dow Jones.

This article was originally published at 2:06 p.m. CST on 
Friday, Nov. 21. It was last updated with additional information 
at 3:39 p.m. CST on Friday, Nov. 21.

**

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 Nov. 1, 2025. The 
inventory was 2% below Nov. 1, 2024, USDA reported on Friday.

Placements in feedlots during October totaled 2.04 million head, 
10% below 2024. Net placements were 1.99 million head. 
Placements were the lowest for October since the series began in 
1996. During October, placements of cattle and calves weighing 
less than 600 pounds were 515,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 
420,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 445,000 head, 800-899 pounds 
were 384,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 195,000 head, and 1,000 
pounds and greater were 80,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during October totaled 1.70 million 
head, 8% below 2024.

Other disappearance totaled 54,000 head during October, 2% below 
2024. 

DTN ANALYSIS

"Friday's Cattle on Feed report should undoubtedly be viewed as 
bullish, but it's anyone's guess in the market's current fickle 
state whether or not traders will view it as substantial enough 
support to affect the market's trading direction on Monday or 
not," DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart said following the 
report's release. 

"As the industry has now come to expect, again this month, the 
biggest line item was the placement data. And with Friday's data 
showing only 2,039,000 head placed during October, that's 10% 
less than a year ago and the lowest October placement since the 
series began back in 1996. What effects the low placement data 
could have on the market really comes into play next February 
through April, as fed cattle supplies could be far thinner than 
anyone anticipated. 

"The other interesting note that Friday's report unveiled was 
the steer and heifer on-feed breakdown as of Oct. 1, which 
showed heifers at 4,355,000 head, equating to 38% of the total 
on-feed numbers. Whenever heifers are at or above 37% of the 
total number of cattle on feed, the industry knows that heifers 
are being sold as feeders and aren't being retained as 
replacement females. 

"Once again, Friday's report should be viewed as thoroughly 
bullish. But with the market's fragile technical state, it's 
tough telling if traders will give this report the credit it 
deserves."

**

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/.