According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) latest Cattle on Feed Report, the number of cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States on Sept. 1 was 11.1 million head, 6 percent above Sept. 1, 2017. This is the highest Sept. 1 inventory since the series began in 1996.
Placements in feedlots during August totaled 2.07 million head, 7 percent above 2017, while marketing of fed cattle during August totaled 1.98 million head, slightly above the 2017 total.
According to a story from Gary Crawford, the numbers in Friday’s USDA Cattle on Feed Report may have surprised some market analysts.