Cattle on Feed Report     12/19  15:35

Dec. 1 Cattle on Feed Down 2% From Year Ago

By DTN Staff

                      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.

This article was originally published at 2:06 p.m. CST on 
Friday, Dec. 19. It was last updated with additional information 
at 2:35 p.m. CST on Friday, Dec. 19.

**

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

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

Friday's 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. 
 
"Needless to say, Friday's Cattle on Feed report will most 
likely be viewed as another bullish finding. But given the 
timing the report came out (only days ahead of Christmas), it's 
unlikely that it will have a strong influence on the market next 
week."

**

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/.