
U.S. Cattle on Feed Down Slightly
Despite the cattle inventory plummeting to the lowest level in 73 years, the number of cattle on feed remains surprisingly strong. Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the U.S. for feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.6 million on October 1st. That number is slightly below the inventory on October 1st of last year.
The inventory included seven million steers and steer calves, up 1% from the previous year. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.6 million head, down 1% from 2023. Feedlot placements during September totaled 2.16 million head, 2% below last year. Net placements were 2.1 million head.
Despite the low the cattle inventory, the number of cattle on feed remains pretty high. Fed cattle marketings in September reached 1.7 million head, 2% below 2023. The average all-fresh retail price for beef hit record highs in six of the last seven months, while the cash price paid to farmers fell from July to September.
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