By DTN Staff

This article was originally published at 2:04 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 17. It was last updated with additional information at 2:31 p.m. CDT on Friday, April 17.

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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 11.6 million head on April 1, 2026. The inventory was 1% below April 1, 2025, USDA NASS reported on Friday.

The inventory included 7.26 million steers and steer calves, down slightly from the previous year. This group accounted for 63% of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.32 million head, down 1% from 2025.

Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.71 million head, 7% below 2025. Net placements were 1.66 million head. Placements were the second lowest for March since the series began in 1996. During March, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 320,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 250,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 435,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 474,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 170,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 60,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled 1.63 million head, 6% below 2025. Marketings were the second lowest for March since the series began in 1996.

Other disappearance totaled 50,000 head during March, 9% below 2025.

DTN ANALYSIS

"Friday's Cattle on Feed report was chock full of information, as not only did the three main usual columns of the report highlight mostly bullish content, but this report also highlighted the steer and heifer breakdown of the total number of cattle on feed," DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart said following the report's release.

"For starters, traders will likely glance over the report and be pleased to see that both the total number of cattle on feed and the total number of cattle placed came in below pre-report estimates. Specially, in terms of the placement data, it's worth noting that of the major feeding states, the year-over-year breakdown is as follow: Colorado placements in March were down 7% compared to a year ago, Iowa's placements for March were up 1% compared to a year ago, Kansas' placements for March were down 5% compared to a year ago, Nebraska's placements for March were down 15% compared to a year ago, and Texas' placements for march were also down 15% compared to a year ago.

"The report also highlighted the steer and heifer breakdown of the cattle on feed. The total number of heifers on feed was 4,320 head, which is 37% of the total number of cattle on feed. That again indicates that the industry is not in a growth phase yet."

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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/….

	USDA Actual	Average Estimate*	Range
On Feed April 1	99%	99.8%	99.4-100.1%
Placed in March	93%	93.5%	92.3-94.5%
Marketed in March	94%	93.7%	92.3-95.3%
* Estimates compiled by Dow Jones.

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