Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the U.S. for feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.8 million head on January 1, 2025. The inventory was one percent below January 1, 2024. The inventory includes 7.25 million steers and steer calves, up one percent from the previous year. This group accounted for 61 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.6 million head, down three percent from 2024.
Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart says, “This report was about as bullish of a report that cattlemen could have hoped for,” and “It’s a relief to see more marketings taking place, which, in combination with lighter placements, helped decrease the total number of cattle on feed.” Marketings of fed cattle during December totaled 1.74 million head, one percent higher than last year. Other disappearances totaled 59,000 head during December, two percent below 2023.
