The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s latest Cattle on Feed Report shows the number of cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States was 11.1 million head on Aug. 1, 2018, 5 percent above Aug. 1, 2017. That makes it the highest Aug. 1 inventory since the series began back in 1996. According to Gary Crawford, the report indicates much larger beef production in the coming months, along with lower cattle prices.