| Cattle on Feed Report | USDA (% of year ago) | Estimate (% of year ago) |
| On feed on Jan. 1 | 96.8 | 96.8 |
| December placements | 94.6 | 93.5 |
| December marketings | 101.8 | 101.5 |
Cattle and calves on feed for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.45 million head on Jan. 1, 2026, USDA said Friday in its monthly Cattle on Feed report, 3.2% below the level seen a year ago.
Placements in feedlots during December totaled 1.594 million head, down 5.4% from the same month in 2024. Net placements were 1.50 million head. During December, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 365,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 360,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 355,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 274,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 115,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 85,000 head.
The number of cattle on feed declined 2% from Dec. 1, and December placements were down 3% from November.
See: Tightest Cattle Supply Predicted in The Next 60 to 90 Days
Marketings of fed cattle during December totaled 1.77 million head, 1.8% above 2024, while other disappearance of 58,000 head in December was 2% below 2024.
Analysts surveyed by Reuters, on average, had expected cattle on feed to show a fall of 3.2%, with placements down 6.5%, and marketings up 2% (see table at top of page).
Cattle futures ended on an up note Friday ahead of the report, cementing a winning week. February live cattle futures rose $2.525 to end at $234.90, and gained $2.75 for the week. March feeder cattle futures rose 90 cents to $360.175, contributing to a weekly gain of $3.725.