Cattle on Feed Report Summary

By DTN Staff

This article was originally posted at 2:03 p.m. CDT. It was updated at 2:38 p.m. CDT.

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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 11.4 million head on Oct. 1, 2018, USDA reported Friday. The inventory was 5% above Oct. 1, 2017. This is the highest Oct. 1 inventory since the series began in 1996.

The inventory included 7.09 million steers and steer calves, up 2% from the previous year. This group accounted for 62% of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.31 million head, up 11% from 2017.

Placements in feedlots during September totaled 2.05 million head, 5% below 2017. Net placements were 1.99 million head. During September, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 425,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 330,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 430,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 466,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 280,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 120,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during September totaled 1.72 million head, 4% below 2017.

Other disappearance totaled 57,000 head during September, 2% below 2017.

"The September Cattle on Feed report comes in generally neutral to slightly bullish with USDA total cattle on feed and placement levels coming in well below early estimates and under the estimated range," said DTN Analyst Rick Kment. "The weakness seen in the cattle complex through the week may limit underlying support early next week. But the lower supply levels could help to rekindle market stability through the near future."

To view the full Cattle on Feed report, visit https://www.nass.usda.gov/…

	USDA Actual	Average Guess	Range
Cattle on Feed:
On Feed Oct. 1	105.0%	106.3%	105.6-107.4%
Placed in September	95.0%	100.0%	96.7-105.0%
Marketed in September	96.0%	96.7%	95.9-99.3%

(AG)

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