February 23, 2010

US cattle on feed down 3% in January

Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the US for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totalled 11 million head on February 1, down 3% from February 1, 2009.

For the month of January, placements in feedlots totaled 1.83 million, 2% below January 2009. Net placements were 1.76 million head, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Agricultural Statistics Board, USDA.

Placements of cattle and calves during January weighing less than 600 pounds were 400,000; 600-699 pounds were 445,000; 700-799 pounds were 560,000; and 800 pounds and greater were 420,000.

Marketings of fed cattle during January totalled 1.77 million, 2% above January 2009. This marks the third-lowest fed cattle marketings for the month of January since the series began in 1996.

Other disappearance totalled 70,000 during January, 4% above 2009.

Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the US for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head represented 80.7% of all cattle and calves on feed in the US on January 1, down from 81.1% on January 1, 2009.

During 2009, marketings of fed cattle for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head represented 84.7% of all cattle marketed from feedlots in the US, unchanged from 2008.