Cattle on Feed ISSN: 1948-9080 Released September 23, 2011, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). United States Cattle on Feed Up 5 Percent Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.7 million head on September 1, 2011. The inventory was 5 percent above September 1, 2010. This is the third highest September 1 inventory since the series began in 1996. Placements in feedlots during August totaled 2.25 million, 1 percent below 2010. Net placements were 2.18 million head. During August, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 715,000, 600-699 pounds were 370,000, 700-799 pounds were 477,000, and 800 pounds and greater were 690,000. Marketings of fed cattle during August totaled 2.05 million, 7 percent above 2010. Other disappearance totaled 72,000 during August, 53 percent above 2010. Number of Cattle on Feed, Placements, Marketings, and Other Disappearance on 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots - United States: September 1, 2010 and 2011 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Percent of Item :---------------------------: : 2010 : 2011 :previous year -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head ---- percent : On feed August 1 ....................: 9,880 10,589 107 Placed on feed during August ........: 2,271 2,252 99 Fed cattle marketed during August ...: 1,923 2,048 107 Other disappearance during August ...: 47 72 153 On feed September 1 .................: 10,181 10,721 105 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Cattle on Feed, Placements, Marketings, and Other Disappearance on 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots - United States: August 1, 2010 and 2011 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : Percent of Item :---------------------------: : 2010 : 2011 :previous year ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 head ---- percent : On feed July 1 .........................: 10,071 10,448 104 Placed on feed during July .............: 1,758 2,133 121 Fed cattle marketed during July ........: 1,901 1,911 101 Other disappearance during July ........: 48 81 169 On feed August 1 .......................: 9,880 10,589 107 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Cattle on Feed on 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots by Month - States and United States: 2010 and 2011 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : September 1, 2011 : : :----------------------------------------- State :September 1, 2010: August 1, 2011 : : Percent of : Percent of : : : Number :previous year :previous month ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : -------------- 1,000 head ------------- ----- percent ---- : Arizona ........: 240 287 288 120 100 California .....: 435 480 475 109 99 Colorado .......: 890 970 990 111 102 Idaho ..........: 190 195 195 103 100 Iowa ...........: 560 560 550 98 98 Kansas .........: 2,200 2,180 2,210 100 101 Nebraska .......: 2,050 1,980 2,010 98 102 Oklahoma .......: 355 360 365 103 101 South Dakota ...: 195 195 190 97 97 Texas ..........: 2,550 2,840 2,900 114 102 Washington .....: 170 190 193 114 102 : Other States ...: 346 352 355 103 101 : United States ..: 10,181 10,589 10,721 105 101 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Cattle Placed on Feed on 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots by Month - States and United States: 2010 and 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : During August 2011 : During : During :-------------------------------------------- State : August 2010 : July 2011 : : Percent of : Percent of : : : Number :previous year :previous month --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------ 1,000 head ----------- ----- percent ---- : Arizona ..........: 20 24 25 125 104 California .......: 55 62 56 102 90 Colorado .........: 190 170 230 121 135 Idaho ............: 46 24 43 93 179 Iowa .............: 93 60 84 90 140 Kansas ...........: 610 580 520 85 90 Nebraska .........: 480 390 445 93 114 Oklahoma .........: 81 86 75 93 87 South Dakota .....: 45 22 45 100 205 Texas ............: 540 630 620 115 98 Washington .......: 42 42 48 114 114 : Other States .....: 69 43 61 88 142 : United States ....: 2,271 2,133 2,252 99 106 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Number of Cattle Placed on Feed by Weight Group on 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots by Month - States and United States: 2010 and 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : During August :--------------------------------------------------------------------- State :Under 600 lbs: 600-699 lbs : 700-799 lbs : 800+ lbs : Total :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ : 1,000 head : Colorado .....: 25 45 20 30 55 45 90 110 190 230 Kansas .......: 90 105 115 105 200 165 205 145 610 520 Nebraska .....: 55 90 80 65 100 100 245 190 480 445 Texas ........: 215 365 120 115 120 85 85 55 540 620 : Other States .: 110 110 60 55 91 82 190 190 451 437 : United States : 495 715 395 370 566 477 815 690 2,271 2,252 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : During July :--------------------------------------------------------------------- State :Under 600 lbs: 600-699 lbs : 700-799 lbs : 800+ lbs : Total :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 : 2010 : 2011 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 head : Colorado .....: 15 45 20 25 40 40 65 60 140 170 Kansas .......: 75 95 90 115 165 190 170 180 500 580 Nebraska .....: 50 60 70 70 90 100 160 160 370 390 Texas ........: 190 300 75 140 85 95 60 95 410 630 : Other States .: 85 120 50 50 68 68 135 125 338 363 : United States : 415 620 305 400 448 493 590 620 1,758 2,133 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Number of Cattle Marketed on 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots by Month - States and United States: 2010 and 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : During August 2011 : During : During :-------------------------------------------- State : August 2010 : July 2011 : : Percent of : Percent of : : : Number :previous year :previous month --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ------------ 1,000 head ----------- ----- percent ---- : Arizona ..........: 27 23 23 85 100 California .......: 52 48 56 108 117 Colorado .........: 185 195 205 111 105 Idaho ............: 45 41 42 93 102 Iowa .............: 91 88 92 101 105 Kansas ...........: 440 420 475 108 113 Nebraska .........: 380 415 400 105 96 Oklahoma .........: 60 74 67 112 91 South Dakota .....: 49 35 48 98 137 Texas ............: 500 465 540 108 116 Washington .......: 34 44 44 129 100 : Other States .....: 60 63 56 93 89 : United States ....: 1,923 1,911 2,048 107 107 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Other Disappearance on 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots by Month - States and United States: 2010 and 2011 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : During August 2011 : During : During :-------------------------------------------- State : August 2010 : July 2011 : : Percent of : Percent of : : : Number :previous year :previous month --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---------- 1,000 head ---------- ----- percent ---- : Arizona ..........: 1 1 1 100 100 California .......: 3 4 5 167 125 Colorado .........: 5 5 5 100 100 Idaho ............: 1 3 1 100 33 Iowa .............: 2 2 2 100 100 Kansas ...........: 10 10 15 150 150 Nebraska .........: 10 15 15 150 100 Oklahoma .........: 1 2 3 300 150 South Dakota .....: 1 2 2 200 100 Texas ............: 10 25 20 200 80 Washington .......: 1 5 1 100 20 : Other States .....: 2 7 2 100 29 : United States ....: 47 81 72 153 89 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Terms and Definitions of Cattle on Feed Estimates Cattle on feed are animals being fed a ration of grain, silage, hay and/or protein supplement for slaughter market that are expected to produce a carcass that will grade select or better. It excludes cattle being "backgrounded only" for later sale as feeders or later placement in another feedlot. Placements are cattle put into a feedlot, fed a ration which will produce a carcass that will grade select or better, and are intended for the slaughter market. Marketings are cattle shipped out of feedlots to a slaughter market. Other disappearance includes death loss, movement from feedlots to pasture, and shipments to other feedlots for further feeding. Reliability of Cattle on Feed Estimates Survey Procedures: During January and July all known feedlots in the United States with capacity of 1,000 or more head are surveyed to provide data for cattle on feed estimates. During the other months, all known feedlots from 16 States are surveyed. The 16 States account for approximately 98 percent of the cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head. Individual State estimates are published monthly for 11 of the 16 States. Data collected from the remaining 5 States are used to establish the "Other States" estimates. These 5 States include Illinois, Minnesota, New Mexico, Oregon, and Wyoming. The "Other States" category represents all cattle on feed with a capacity of 1,000 or more head for the rest of the United States. Estimating Procedures: These cattle on feed estimates were prepared by the Agricultural Statistics Board after reviewing recommendations and analysis submitted by each State office. Regional and State survey data were reviewed for reasonableness with each other and with estimates from the previous month when establishing the current estimates. Revision Policy: Revisions to previous estimates are made to improve month to month relationships. Estimates for the previous month are subject to revision in all States each month when current estimates are made. In February, all monthly estimates for the previous year, and the number of feedlots and annual marketings from two years ago are reviewed and subject to revisions. The reviews are primarily based on slaughter data, state check-off or brand data, and any other data that may have been received after the original estimate was made. Estimates will also be reviewed after data from the Census of Agriculture are available. No revisions will be made after that date and estimates become final. Reliability: Since all 1,000+ capacity cattle on feed operators in every State are not included in the monthly survey, survey estimates are subject to sampling variability. Survey results are also subject to non-sampling errors such as omissions, duplications, and mistakes in reporting, recording, and processing the data. The effects of these errors cannot be measured directly. They are minimized through rigid quality controls in the data collection process and through a careful review of all reported data for consistency and reasonableness. To assist users in evaluating the reliability of estimates in this report, the "Root Mean Square Error" is shown for selected items in the table on the following page. The "Root Mean Square Error" is a statistical measure based on past performance and is computed using the differences between first and latest estimates. The "Root Mean Square Error" for cattle on feed inventory estimates over the past 24 months is 0.1 percent. This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 10.7 million head by more than 0.1 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 0.2 percent. The table on the following page shows a 24 month record of the range of differences between first and latest estimates for selected items. Using estimates of number on feed as an example, changes between the first estimate and the latest estimate during the past 24 months have averaged 11,000 head, ranging from 0 to 37,000 head. During this period the initial estimate has been above the latest estimate 10 times and has been below the latest estimate 10 times. This does not imply that the initial estimate is likely to understate or overstate final inventory. Reliability of Monthly Cattle on Feed Estimates [Based on data for the past 24 months] -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Root mean : 90 percent : Difference between first and latest estimate : square error : confidence : : : : : : : level :------------------------------------------------------------- Item : : : : : : Months : : : : : :------------------------------- : : : Average :Smallest : Largest : Below latest : Above latest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : percent percent -------- 1,000 ------- ----- number ----- : Number on feed ...............: 0.1 0.2 11 0 37 10 10 : Placements ...................: 0.4 0.7 4 0 20 11 7 : Marketings ...................: 0.3 0.5 3 0 21 9 6 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. E-mail inquiries may be sent to nass@nass.usda.gov Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch ........... (202) 720-3570 Scott Hollis, Head, Livestock Section ........... (202) 690-2424 Travis Averill - Dairy Products Prices ....... (202) 690-2168 Sherry Bertramsen - Livestock Slaughter ...... (515) 284-4340 Doug Bounds - Hogs and Pigs .................. (202) 720-3106 Jason Hardegree - Cattle, Cattle on Feed ..... (202) 720-3040 Mike Miller - Milk Production and Milk Cows .. (202) 720-3278 Everett Olbert - Sheep and Goats ............. (202) 720-4751 Lorie Warren - Dairy Products ................ (202) 690-3236 Access to NASS Reports For your convenience, you may access NASS reports and products the following ways: All reports are available electronically, at no cost, on the NASS web site: http://www.nass.usda.gov Both national and state specific reports are available via a free e- mail subscription. 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