By DTN Staff

This article was originally published at 2:06 p.m. CDT on Thursday, April 17. It was last updated with additional information at 3:03 p.m. CDT on Thursday, 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, 2025. The inventory was 2% below April 1, 2024, USDA NASS reported on Thursday.

The inventory included 7.26 million steers and steer calves, down slightly from the previous year. This group accounted for 62% of the total inventory.

Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 4.38 million head, down 4% from 2024.

Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.84 million head, 5% above 2024. Net placements were 1.79 million head. During March, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 335,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 285,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 475,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 506,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 175,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 65,000 head.

Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled 1.73 million head, 1% above 2024.

Other disappearance totaled 55,000 head during March, 4% below 2024.

DTN ANALYSIS

Thursday's Cattle on Feed report came out close to analysts' estimates, although placements were slightly higher, and so were the number of fed cattle marketed, noted DTN Livestock Analyst ShayLe Stewart.

"It may seem jaw-dropping to see a 5% increase in March placements from a year ago, but it should be noted that last year, placements were down 12% in March, only totaling 1,746,000 head," Stewart said. "But in March of 2023, there were 1,990,000 head placed, and that was down 1% compared to 2022 data. So, today, seeing the placement data come in at 1,841,000 head isn't that bewildering when you consider the varying circumstances of recent years.

"To break the placement data down specifically, the following states saw placement figures increase compared to a year ago: Arizona up 9%, Idaho up 14%, Kansas up 8%, Nebraska up 11%, South Dakota up $3% and Texas up 1%. And in terms of the individual weight groups, every single class saw greater placements than compared to a year ago.

"And when you take into account the 10,000-foot view of the market (the record-high prices seen at sale barns in March, the increase in imports from Mexico and buyers' concern that feeder cattle supplies are only going to be harder to come by the closer grass turn-out season arrives) it makes sense logically why placements were higher than compared to a year ago.

"In conclusion, seeing placements up 5% compared to a year ago may seem bewildering at first, but when one understands that the data was down 12% in March of 2024, Thursday's placements category isn't problematic. And I believe traders will find the gains made in this week's fed cash cattle market more important than the news from the Cattle on Feed report. Thursday's report will likely be viewed as neutral to somewhat bearish simply because of the year-over-year comparison."

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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/….

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