Cattle on Feed Report     04/17  14:34

April 1 Cattle on Feed Down 1% From Year Ago

By DTN Staff

                      USDA Actual   Average Estimate*      Range

On Feed April 1           99%            99.2%       98.5-100.0%
Placed in March           93%            99.0%       96.3-105.0%
Marketed in March         94%            92.3%        91.8-92.9%

* Estimates compiled by Dow Jones.

This article was originally published at 2:07 p.m. CDT on 
Friday, April 17. It was last updated with additional 
information at 2:34 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 17.

**

OMAHA (DTN) -- Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter 
market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 
or more head totaled 11.6 million head on April 1, 2026. The 
inventory was 1% below April 1, 2025, USDA NASS reported on 
Friday. 

The inventory included 7.26 million steers and steer calves, 
down slightly from the previous year. This group accounted for 
63% of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted 
for 4.32 million head, down 1% from 2025.

Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.71 million head, 
7% below 2025. Net placements were 1.66 million head. Placements 
were the second lowest for March since the series began in 1996. 
During March, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 
600 pounds were 320,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 250,000 head, 
700-799 pounds were 435,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 474,000 
head, 900-999 pounds were 170,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and 
greater were 60,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled 1.63 million head, 
6% below 2025. Marketings were the second lowest for March since 
the series began in 1996.

Other disappearance totaled 50,000 head during March, 9% below 
2025.

DTN ANALYSIS

"Friday's Cattle on Feed report was chock full of information, 
as not only did the three main usual columns of the report 
highlight mostly bullish content, but this report also 
highlighted the steer and heifer breakdown of the total number 
of cattle on feed," DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart said 
following the report's release.
 
"For starters, traders will likely glance over the report and be 
pleased to see that both the total number of cattle on feed and 
the total number of cattle placed came in below pre-report 
estimates. Specially, in terms of the placement data, it's worth 
noting that of the major feeding states, the year-over-year 
breakdown is as follow: Colorado placements in March were down 
7% compared to a year ago, Iowa's placements for March were up 
1% compared to a year ago, Kansas' placements for March were 
down 5% compared to a year ago, Nebraska's placements for March 
were down 15% compared to a year ago, and Texas' placements for 
march were also down 15% compared to a year ago.
 
"The report also highlighted the steer and heifer breakdown of 
the cattle on feed. The total number of heifers on feed were 
4,320 head, which is 37% of the total number of cattle on feed. 
That again indicates that the industry is not in a growth phase 
yet."

**

DTN subscribers can view the full Cattle on Feed reports in the 
Livestock Archives folder under the Markets menu. The report is 
also available at https://www.nass.usda.gov/.