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USDA Cattle on Feed and Cattle Inventory Reports 07/25 14:55
July 1 Cattle on Feed Down 2% From Year Ago; Inventory Down 1%
By DTN Staff
July 1 Cattle on Feed
USDA Actual Average Estimate* Range
On Feed July 1 98% 99.1% 98.8-99.4%
Placed in June 92% 98.0% 96.0-99.1%
Marketed in June 96% 96.2% 95.9-96.9%
* Estimates compiled by Dow Jones
**
Cattle Inventory by Class and Calf Crop - U.S.: July 1, 2023 and 2025
Class 2023 2025 % of previous
(1,000 head) (1,000 head) year
Cattle and calves 95,400 94,200 99
Cows and heifers 38,400 38,100 99
that have calved
-- Beef cows 29,000 28,650 99
-- Milk cows 9,400 9,450 101
Heifers 500 pounds and over 14,900 14,600 98
-- For beef cow replacement 3,800 3,700 97
-- For milk cow replacement 3,500 3,500 100
-- Other heifers 7,600 7,400 97
Steers 500 pounds and over 14,000 13,800 99
Bulls 500 pounds and over 1,900 1,900 100
Calves under 500 pounds 26,200 25,800 98
Cattle on feed 13,100 13,000 99
Calf crop 33,563 33,100 99
This article was originally published at 2:25 p.m. CDT on Friday, July 25.
It was last updated with additional information at 2:55 p.m. CDT on
Friday, July 25.
**
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
11.1 million head on July 1, 2025. The inventory was 2% below July 1,
2024. The inventory included 6.88 million steers and steer calves, up 1%
from the previous year. This group accounted for 62% of the total
inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.24 million head, down
5% from 2024, USDA NASS reported on Friday.
Placements in feedlots during June totaled 1.44 million head, 8% below
2024. Net placements were 1.39 million head. During June, placements of
cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 320,000 head, 600-699
pounds were 235,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 315,000 head, 800-899 pounds
were 326,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 165,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and
greater were 80,000 head.
Marketings of fed cattle during June totaled 1.71 million head, 4% below
2024. Marketings were the lowest for June since the series began in 1996.
Other disappearance totaled 53,000 head during June, 7% below 2024.
CATTLE INVENTORY
All cattle and calves in the United States on July 1, 2025 totaled 94.2
million head, 1% below the 95.4 million head on July 1, 2023, USDA NASS
reported on Friday. (USDA did not release a Cattle inventory report for
July 1, 2024.)
All cows and heifers that have calved totaled 38.1 million head, 1% below
the 38.4 million head on July 1, 2023. Beef cows, at 28.7 million head,
are down 1% from two years ago. Milk cows, at 9.45 million head, are up 1%
from 2023.
All heifers 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2025 totaled 14.6 million head,
2% below the 14.9 million head on July 1, 2023. Beef replacement heifers,
at 3.70 million head, are down 3% from two years earlier. Milk replacement
heifers, at 3.50 million head, are unchanged from 2023. Other heifers, at
7.40 million head, are 3% below two years ago.
Steers 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2025 totaled 13.8 million head, down
1% from July 1, 2023.
Bulls 500 pounds and over on July 1, 2025 totaled 1.90 million head,
unchanged from two years earlier.
Calves under 500 pounds on July 1, 2025 totaled 25.8 million head, down 2%
from 2023.
Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States
for all feedlots totaled 13.0 million head on July 1, 2025, down 1% from
two years earlier. Cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or
more head accounted for 85.6% of the total cattle on feed on July 1, 2025,
down slightly from two years ago. The total of calves under 500 pounds and
other heifers and steers over 500 pounds (outside of feedlots), at 34.0
million head, is down 2% from the 34.7 million head on July 1, 2023.
CALF CROP DOWN 1%
The 2025 calf crop in the United States is expected to be 33.1 million
head, down 1% from last year. Calves born during the first half of 2025
are estimated at 24.3 million head, down 1% from the first half of 2024.
An additional 8.80 million calves are expected to be born during the
second half of 2025.
DTN ANALYSIS
"There's simply only one way to view Friday's July 1 Cattle on Feed
Report, and that's entirely bullish," said DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe
Stewart. "Now it's tough telling what the market will do with this data on
Monday when traders have the first opportunity to react to the data, given
that the contracts are already trading at an all-time high. But there's
simply no other way to view Friday's Cattle on Feed report other than to
acknowledge the story it's telling, and that's a story of extremely short
supplies.
"The kicker of Friday's COF report was the sharp decline in placements
that no analysts predicted beforehand. Pre-report estimates believed that
placements would land somewhere in the ballpark of 96.0% to 99.1% of a
year ago, but low and behold, Friday's data unveiled that placements came
in sharply lower at 92% of a year ago -- totaling just 1,441,000 head.
"It was also interesting to note the percentage breakdown of steers and
heifers in this report, which is offered quarterly. The total number of
steer calves on feed totaled 6,884,000 head, and the total number of
heifers calves on feed totaled 4,240,000 head. That means that steers
represent roughly 62% of the total number of cattle on feed, and heifers
represent 38% of the total number of cattle on feed. Historically,
whenever the total number of heifers on feed is less than 37%, ranchers,
to some degree or another, are making efforts to grow their herds. So,
Friday's data clearly shows that by and large, producers are still
electing to market their female heifer calves as opposed to keeping and
making a run at rebuilding their herd numbers.
"This data was further confirmed by the Cattle inventory report (chart and
numbers below), which concluded the same outcome. Last year, the midyear
cattle inventory report wasn't released because of disruptions at USDA,
but compared to the data of 2023, beef replacement heifers totaled 3.70
million head, which was down 3% compared to July 1, 2023. The total number
of beef cows totaled 28.7 million head, which was down 1% compared to the
data of 2023."
**
DTN subscribers can view the full USDA Cattle on Feed and Cattle inventory
reports in the Livestock Archives folder under the Markets menu. The
report is also available at https://www.nass.usda.gov/.
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