USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report was released on Friday. Total cattle on feed amounted to 11.7 million head, 98 percent of last year.
Placements were the lowest for the month of October since the series began in 1996, dropping 10 percent on the year due to tight supply of cattle. This is a major reversal as placements in October 2024 were 2.27 million head, the largest since 2019. Placements weighing less than 800 pounds were 68 percent of the total volume placed on feed, compared to 57 percent last year.
As a percentage of total inventory, October marketings were below current at 14.5 percent in 2025. Daily marketings in October were 77,136 versus 83,864 in October 2024. October had 22 slaughter days in...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
