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 a 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, Nov. 21.

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."

The bullish numbers in Friday's report were overshadowed by Tyson Foods' announcement on Nov. 21 that it plans to close its 5,000-head-per-day plant in Lexington, Nebraska. (https://www.dtnpf.com/…) The news led to a "bloodbath" in the cattle markets on Monday as the industry considers the implications of losing capacity in the packing sector.

"Plain and simple, it was an ugly day for the live cattle complex, as the market closed limit lower," Stewart wrote in her closing livestock comments on Monday. "Traders took Tyson's announcement of them closing their plant in Lexington, Nebraska, and reducing their plant in Amarillo, Texas, as a bearish sign for the marketplace and consequently pulled the contracts down substantially. December live cattle closed $7.25 lower at $207.20, February live cattle closed $7.25 lower at $207.52, and April live cattle closed $7.25 lower at $207.90."

Feeder cattle contracts also closed limit lower on Monday due to the news.

"Fueled by the nervousness that came upon the marketplace by Tyson's announcement, and upon seeing the live cattle contracts dive sharply lower, the feeder cattle market stood no chance at closing anything but lower this afternoon," Stewart wrote in her comments. "January feeders closed $9.25 lower at $304.97, March feeders closed $9.25 lower at $297.80, and April feeders closed $9.25 lower at $296.10."

**

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	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.

(c) Copyright 2025 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.