Friday March 20 Cattle on Feed Report + Milk Production Report

United States Cattle on Feed Down Slightly

Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.5 million head on March 1, 2026. The inventory was slightly below March 1, 2025.

Cattle on Feed Inventory (1,000 hd - % March 1 '25)
Colorado .........:       925            92        
Iowa .............:          680           101       
Kansas ...........:        2,350        101      
Nebraska .........:      2,670         103      
Texas ............:         2,530          96      

Placements in feedlots during February totaled 1.61 million head, 4 percent above 2025. Net placements were 1.56 million head. During February, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 305,000 head, 600-699 pounds were 280,000 head, 700-799 pounds were 445,000 head, 800-899 pounds were 396,000 head, 900-999 pounds were 130,000 head, and 1,000 pounds and greater were 55,000 head.

Cattle Placed on Feed (1,000 hd - % Feb '25)
Colorado .........:      120          92    
Iowa .............:         104         111    
Kansas ...........:       405          111   
Nebraska .........:      410          93   
Texas ............:         280         108    

Marketings of fed cattle during February totaled 1.52 million head, 7 percent below 2025. Marketings were the second lowest for February since the series began in 1996. Other disappearance totaled 50,000 head during February, 17 percent below 2025.

Cattle Marketed (1,000 hd - % Feb '25)
Colorado .........:      110            79    
Iowa .............:          92             99     
Kansas ...........:       395            98     
Nebraska .........:      410            96     
Texas ............:        250            81     




February Milk Production in the United States up 2.9 Percent

Milk production in the United States during February totaled 18.3 billion pounds, up 2.9 percent from February 2025. Production per cow in the United States averaged 1,899 pounds for February, 12 pounds above February 2025. The number of milk cows on farms in the United States was 9.62 million head, 211,000 head more than February 2025, and 15,000 head more than January 2026.