USDA Nov. 1 Cattle on Feed Report

By DTN Staff

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 12.0 million head on Nov. 1, 2024. The inventory was slightly above Nov. 1, 2023, USDA NASS reported on Friday.

Placements in feedlots during October totaled 2.29 million head, 5% above 2023. Net placements were 2.23 million head. During October, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 585,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 480,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 490,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 436,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 215,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 80,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during October totaled 1.85 million head, 5% above 2023.

Other disappearance totaled 55,000 head during October, unchanged from 2023.

DTN ANALYSIS

"Friday's Nov. 1 Cattle on Feed report came in almost identically to how pre-report estimates figured, with the only minor change being in the placement data," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart. "It was relieving to see that total on-feed numbers were less than a percentage point greater than last year's totals, at 11.986 million head. I think it's worth noting that there have only been three times since 2015 that on-feed totals for Nov. 1 have exceeded 11.9 million head, and that was in 2020, 2023 and now in 2024.

"But in understanding the drought situation in the countryside, an increase in placements, which consequently affects the total number of cattle on feed nationwide, makes perfect sense. There wasn't one single state listed on the total on-feed inventory list that didn't have either steady on-feed numbers compared to a month ago or greater on-feed totals. The states that saw the greatest month-over-month increases for on-feed totals were Colorado (up 6%), Minnesota (up 5%), Nebraska (up 5%), Oklahoma (up 6%), South Dakota (up 12%) and Washington (up 6%).

"And when looking at the placement data, there wasn't one single weight group that didn't see greater placements than compared to a year ago. But when compared to last month's placement data, there were more lighter-weight feeders placed than those weighing 800 pounds or more.

For more on the significance of this month's Cattle on Feed numbers, see Stewart's latest Call the Market column, "How Can a Record-Low Beef Cow Herd Produce Near-Record On-Feed Totals?" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

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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 Nov. 1	100%	100.0%	99.5-101.3%
Placed in October	105%	104.2%	101.8-107.0%
Marketed in October	105%	105.1%	104.7-105.7%

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