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USDA Cattle on Feed Report Preview

ShayLe Stewart 4/16 10:14 AM

OMAHA (DTN) -- USDA's April 1 Cattle on Feed report due out on Friday isn't expected to ruffle any feathers and will likely be mostly on the bullish side of the spectrum for the cattle complex if pre-report estimates prove correct.

Again this month, the big line-item to watch will be the placement data, as it's been the wild card for several months. But based on Dow Jones' survey of analysts, the range of placement estimates isn't as wide this month, and most believe that they will land somewhere around 93.5% of a year ago. It is worth noting that last year (2025), placements were shockingly lower in February, but then the market saw an uptick in placements for March 2025. But even with the year-over-year comparison, the fact remains that the border remains closed to Mexican cattle, which is affecting placement numbers.

USDA will release its April 1 Cattle on Feed report at 2 p.m. CDT on Friday.

	USDA Actual	Average Estimate*	Range
On Feed April 1		99.8%	99.4-100.1%
Placed in March		93.5%	92.3-94.5%
Marketed in March		93.7%	92.3-95.3%
* Estimates compiled by Dow Jones.

ShayLe Stewart can be reached at ShayLe.Stewart@dtn.com