USDA Aug. 1 Cattle on Feed Report

By DTN Staff

This article was originally published at 2:03 p.m. CDT on Friday, Aug. 22. It was last updated with additional information at 3:18 p.m. CDT on Friday, Aug. 22.

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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 10.9 million head on Aug. 1, 2025. The inventory was 2% below Aug. 1, 2024, USDA NASS reported on Friday.

Placements in feedlots during July totaled 1.60 million head, 6% below 2024. Net placements were 1.55 million head. During July, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 340,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 245,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 365,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 378,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 195,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 75,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during July totaled 1.75 million head, 6% below 2024. Other disappearance totaled 51,000 head during July, 9% below 2024.

DTN ANALYSIS

"After a dynamite week in the cattle complex where new contract highs were seen almost daily in both the live cattle and feeder cattle markets and the fed cash cattle market rallied another $2 to $5 higher, isn't it typical for the USDA Cattle on Feed report to throw a minor curveball like this!" said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart.

"Ahead of the report's release, the big question again was this: Will placements be sharply lower than a year ago? And upon seeing the placement data come in at 1,598,000 head, or 94% of a year ago, it was almost shocking to see the number come in on the upper end of analysts' estimated range, as we've grown accustomed to seeing the monthly data be sharply lower than a year ago. Let me remind you: placements at 94% of a year ago, or down 6%, are a significant decrease. But given that the market has grown comfortable with seeing double-digit declines in the placements sector, seeing Friday's placement data made me raise a brow.

"There's a slim chance that traders may choose to overblow Friday's report and deem it as bearish, as pre-report estimates predicted that placements should average somewhere around 91.1% of a year ago, while the actual report figure came in at 94% -- the high end of the estimates range. But this by no means signals a reason to panic or to feel like there are more cattle in the countryside than originally believed.

"When you look at the placement data in terms of individual weight classes, not a single weight division saw placements greater than a year ago. And the state-by-state breakdown showed a steady increase across most of the states, which could simply be because producers are marketing earlier this year to take advantage of the market's strong prices."

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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 Aug. 1	98%	98.1%	97.4-98.4%
Placed in July	94%	91.1%	87.0-94.0%
Marketed in July	94%	94.1%	94.0-94.7%
* Estimates compiled by Dow Jones.

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