USDA Nov. 1 Cattle on Feed Report

22 Nov 2024

By DTN Staff

This article was originally published at 2:03 p.m. CST on Friday, Nov. 22. It was last updated with additional information at 4:10 p.m. CST on Friday, Nov. 22.

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 12.0 million head on Nov. 1, 2024. The inventory was slightly above Nov. 1, 2023, USDA NASS reported on Friday.

Placements in feedlots during October totaled 2.29 million head, 5% above 2023. Net placements were 2.23 million head. During October, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 585,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 480,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 490,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 436,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 215,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 80,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during October totaled 1.85 million head, 5% above 2023.

Other disappearance totaled 55,000 head during October, unchanged from 2023.

DTN ANALYSIS

"Friday's Nov. 1 Cattle on Feed report came in almost identically to how pre-report estimates figured, with the only minor change being in the placement data," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart. "It was relieving to see that total on-feed numbers were less than a percentage point greater than last year's totals, at 11.986 million head. I think it's worth noting that there have only been three times since 2015 that on-feed totals for Nov. 1 have exceeded 11.9 million head, and that was in 2020, 2023 and now in 2024.

"But in understanding the drought situation in the countryside, an increase in placements, which consequently affects the total number of cattle on feed nationwide, makes perfect sense. There wasn't one single state listed on the total on-feed inventory list that didn't have either steady on-feed numbers compared to a month ago or greater on-feed totals. The states that saw the greatest month-over-month increases for on-feed totals were Colorado (up 6%), Minnesota (up 5%), Nebraska (up 5%), Oklahoma (up 6%), South Dakota (up 12%) and Washington (up 6%).

"And when looking at the placement data, there wasn't one single weight group that didn't see greater placements than compared to a year ago. But when compared to last month's placement data, there were more lighter-weight feeders placed than those weighing 800 pounds or more.

"Friday's Cattle on Feed report will likely be viewed as neutral to traders on Monday given the fact that the market's fundamentals and technical support is so strong right now. There's a chance that traders might find it to be slightly bearish simply because the actual placement data is greater than originally assumed. But, as mentioned before, I believe the supportive nature of the market's fundamentals will encourage traders to look beyond that slight difference."

For more on the significance of this month's Cattle on Feed numbers, see Stewart's latest Call the Market column, "How Can a Record-Low Beef Cow Herd Produce Near-Record On-Feed Totals?" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….

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/….