Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.5 million head on Feb. 1, 2026, according to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, Cattle on Feed. The inventory was 2% below Feb. 1, 2025.
Placements decline across weight categories
Placements in feedlots during January totaled 1.74 million head, 5 percent below 2025 levels. Net placements were 1.68 million head. The decline affected multiple weight categories, with cattle weighing less than 600 pounds accounting for 360,000 head placed during January.
Cattle in the 600-699 pound range totaled 365,000 head, while the 700-799 pound category saw 455,000 head placed. Heavier cattle placements included 381,000 head in the 800-899 pound range, 105,000 head weighing 900-999 pounds, and 70,000 head at 1,000 pounds and greater.
Marketing activity drops significantly
Marketings of fed cattle during January totaled 1.63 million head, representing a 13 percent decline from 2025. This sharp drop in marketing activity contributed to the overall inventory changes across the feedlot sector.
Other disappearance, which includes death loss, movement from feedlots to pasture, and shipments to other feedlots for further feeding, totaled 55,000 head during January, 8 percent below 2025 levels.
Large feedlots dominate industry
Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head represented 82.7 percent of all cattle and calves on feed in the United States on Jan. 1, 2026. This percentage remained comparable to the 82.5 percent recorded on Jan. 1, 2025.
Marketings of fed cattle for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head during 2025 represented 87.1 percent of total cattle marketed from all feedlots nationwide.
