Cattle on Feed Report     11/20  14:05

Nov. 1 Cattle on Feed Up 1% 

By DTN Staff

                      USDA Actual   Average Estimate       Range
On Feed Nov. 1            101%          101.8%      100.9-102.6%
Placed in Oct.             89%           90.8%        87.3-95.5%
Marketed in Oct.          100%          100.2%       98.5-102.4%

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 12.0 million head on Nov. 1, 2020. The 
inventory was 1% above Nov. 1, 2019, USDA reported on Friday. 
This is the highest Nov. 1 inventory since the series began in 
1996.

Placements in feedlots during October totaled 2.19 million head, 
11% below 2019. Net placements were 2.13 million head. During 
October, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 
pounds were 570,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 495,000 head, 700-
799 pounds were 465,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 387,000 head, 
900-999 pounds were 185,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater 
were 90,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during October totaled 1.87 million 
head, slightly below 2019.

Other disappearance totaled 63,000 head during October, 7% above 
2019.

DTN ANALYSIS

"The November USDA Cattle on Feed report showed total cattle in 
feedlots over 1,000 head at just under 12 million head (11.973 
million head)," said DTN Analyst Rick Kment. "This is 1% above a 
year ago and slightly below analysts pre-report estimates. But 
even though numbers are below pre-report estimates, the fact 
that 12 million head of cattle are on feed remains a negative 
factor for the ability of prices to rally significantly over the 
near future.

"Cattle placements were 11% below 2019 levels, at 2.2 million 
head. Placements are 1% below estimates and slightly below 
September placement levels. This indicates that cattle 
placements likely hit seasonal highs in September due to drought 
conditions in many areas and wild market shifts.

"This report is expected to remain generally neutral to slightly 
bullish despite the continued large number of cattle supplies 
available."

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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/.