USDA’s latest Cattle on Feed Report shows the number of 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 January 1, 2020, two percent above January 1, 2019. The inventory includes 7.37 million steers and steer calves, up 1 percent from the previous year. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.59 million head, up 4 percent from 2019. And according to a story from Gary Crawford, this report may help tell the direction of the beef cattle sector.
The report shows placements in feedlots during December was 1.83 million head, 3 percent above the year before. Marketing’s of fed cattle during December totaled 1.83 million head, 5 percent above 2018.