USDA Dec. 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 Dec. 1, 2025. The inventory was 2% below Dec. 1, 2024, USDA NASS reported on Dec. 19.

Placements in feedlots during November totaled 1.60 million head, 11% below 2024. Net placements were 1.54 million head. Placements were the lowest for November since the series began in 1996. During November, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 435,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 375,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 320,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 255,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 130,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 80,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during November totaled 1.52 million head, 12% below 2024. Marketings were the second lowest for November since the series began in 1996.

Other disappearance totaled 53,000 head during November, 4% below 2024.

DTN ANALYSIS

The Dec. 1 Cattle on Feed report came out bullish, as was anticipated, said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart.

"The biggest takeaways again were: 1) Placements remain historically lower, for a number of different factors (a historically low cow herd; producers marketed their calves earlier this year; the border remains closed to Mexican feeder cattle imports; prices were high in October, which naturally lessened the number of calves being placed the following month); and 2) because there is a lower turnover on fed cattle, as cattle are now spending more days on feed, even with a record-low cow herd, the industry still sits with total on-feed numbers close to a year ago," Stewart said.

"To no one's surprise, the states with the lowest placements in November were Arizona (down 27% compared to a year ago), Kansas (down 20% compared to a year ago), and Texas (down 17% compared to a year ago). Those logically pass the 'smell test,' as the border remains closed to Mexico, which has drastically limited the number of imports in those states."

February live cattle closed $0.62 higher at $231.42 on Monday, as traders were encouraged by the bullish Cattle on Feed report and by the stronger uptick in boxed beef prices on Monday, too, Stewart said in her livestock markets commentary on Monday.

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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 Dec. 1	98%	98.2%	97.3-99.0%
Placed in November	89%	90.9%	84.4-96.0%
Marketed in November	88%	88.5%	87.5-89.0%
* Estimates compiled by Dow Jones.

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