Cattle on Feed Preview                 02/22 14:00

                        USDA Actual  Average Guess      Range
Cattle on Feed:
On Feed Jan. 1             102.0%        102.2%     101.3-102.6%
Placed in December          98.0%        101.4%      95.1-103.8%
Marketed in December        99.0%         99.7%      99.3-101.9%

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 11.7 million head on Jan. 1, 2019. The 
inventory was 2% above Jan. 1, 2018, USDA reported Friday.

The inventory included 7.28 million steers and steer calves, 
down 1% from the previous year. This group accounted for 62% of 
the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 
4.41 million head, up 6% from 2018.

Placements in feedlots during December totaled 1.77 million 
head, 2% below 2018. Net placements were 1.69 million head. 
During December, placements of cattle and calves weighing less 
than 600 pounds were 445,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 460,000 
head, 700-799 pounds were 402,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 
285,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 90,000 head, and 1,000 pounds 
and greater were 85,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during December totaled 1.74 million 
head, 1% below 2017.

Other disappearance totaled 75,000 head during December, 1% 
above 2017.

"All areas are within estimated ranges, but the fact that this 
report is delayed by a month is expected to negate most of the 
market impact due to the historical nature of the report," said 
DTN Analyst Rick Kment. "The Feb 1 Cattle on Feed report will be 
released on March 8, and will be more closely watched, as it 
will have more up-to-date information."