Mt An 2-1 (9-09) Cattle on Feed Washington, D.C. Released September 18, 2009, by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board, U.S. Department of Agriculture. For information on "Cattle on Feed" call Jason Hardegree at (202) 720-3040, office hours 7:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET. U.S. Cattle on Feed Down 1 Percent Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 9.9 million head on September 1, 2009. The inventory was 1 percent below September 1, 2008. Placements in feedlots during August totaled 2.11 million, 2 percent above 2008. Net placements were 2.06 million head. During August, placements of cattle and calves weighing less than 600 pounds were 425,000, 600-699 pounds were 395,000, 700-799 pounds were 515,000, and 800 pounds and greater were 775,000. Marketings of fed cattle during August totaled 1.81 million, 4 percent below 2008. This is the lowest fed cattle marketings for the month of August since the series began in 1996. Other disappearance totaled 55,000 during August, 12 percent above 2008. Cattle on Feed: Number on Feed, Placements, Marketings, and Other Disappearance, 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, United States, September 1, 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : 2009 as % Item :---------------------------------------- : 2008 : 2009 : of 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 Head --- Percent : On Feed Aug 1 : 9,869 *9,637 98 Placed on Feed During Aug : 2,061 2,110 102 Fed Cattle Marketed During Aug : 1,884 1,810 96 Other Disappearance During Aug : 49 55 112 On Feed Sep 1 : 9,997 9,882 99 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. Cattle on Feed: Number on Feed, Placements, Marketings, and Other Disappearance, 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, United States, August 1, 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Number : 2009 as % Item :---------------------------------------- : 2008 : 2009 : of 2008 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ---- 1,000 Head ---- Percent : On Feed Jul 1 : 10,295 9,752 95 Placed on Feed During Jul : 1,656 1,863 113 Fed Cattle Marketed During Jul : 2,037 *1,935 95 Other Disappearance During Jul : 45 43 96 On Feed Aug 1 : 9,869 *9,637 98 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. Cattle on Feed: Number on Feed, 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, by Month, State, and United States 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : Sep 1, 2009 : : :----------------------------------------- State : Sep 1, 2008 : Aug 1, 2009 : : as % of : as % of : : : Number : 2008 : Aug -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- 1,000 Head ---------- ---- Percent ---- : AZ : 362 275 275 76 100 CA : 505 450 455 90 101 CO : 770 850 860 112 101 ID : 180 195 195 108 100 IA : 470 510 510 109 100 KS : 2,090 1,920 2,050 98 107 NE : 1,960 1,920 2,020 103 105 NM : 167 D/ D/ D/ D/ OK : 305 310 325 107 105 SD : 165 190 185 112 97 TX : 2,580 2,510 2,510 97 100 WA : 138 138 140 101 101 : Oth Sts1/ : 305 369 357 X/ 97 : US : 9,997 *9,637 9,882 99 103 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (X) Comparison to 2008 is not applicable. 1/ Includes unpublished New Mexico totals for 2009. Cattle on Feed: Number Placed on Feed, 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, by Month, State, and United States 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : During Aug 2009 : During : During :----------------------------------------- State : Aug 2008 : Jul 2009 : : as % of : as % of : : : Number : 2008 : Jul -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- 1,000 Head ---------- ---- Percent ---- : AZ : 33 25 28 85 112 CA : 37 45 53 143 118 CO : 190 125 205 108 164 ID : 45 33 42 93 127 IA : 72 61 74 103 121 KS : 520 480 550 106 115 NE : 445 410 460 103 112 NM : 27 D/ D/ D/ D/ OK : 70 69 73 104 106 SD : 28 29 36 129 124 TX : 510 495 500 98 101 WA : 36 33 31 86 94 : Oth Sts1/ : 48 58 58 X/ 100 : US : 2,061 1,863 2,110 102 113 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (X) Comparison to 2008 is not applicable. 1/ Includes unpublished New Mexico totals for 2009. Cattle on Feed: Number Placed on Feed by Weight Group, 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, by Month, State, and United States, 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : During August :--------------------------------------------------------------------- State : Under 600 : 600-699 : 700-799 : 800 Plus : Total :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : CO : 15 15 20 20 50 50 105 120 190 205 KS : 65 60 105 100 190 175 160 215 520 550 NE : 60 60 60 80 105 100 220 220 445 460 TX : 125 190 170 140 140 110 75 60 510 500 : Oth Sts : 100 100 55 55 81 80 160 160 396 395 : US : 365 425 410 395 566 515 720 775 2,061 2,110 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : During July :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : Under 600 : 600-699 : 700-799 : 800 Plus : Total :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 : 2008 : 2009 :--------------------------------------------------------------------- : 1,000 Head : CO : 15 15 20 15 35 35 40 60 110 125 KS : 70 80 85 90 155 150 120 160 430 480 NE : 40 60 50 80 90 95 140 175 320 410 TX : 130 200 110 125 130 105 90 65 460 495 : Oth Sts : 105 100 50 55 71 73 110 125 336 353 : US : 360 455 315 365 481 458 500 585 1,656 1,863 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cattle on Feed: Number Marketed, 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, by Month, State, and United States 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : During Aug 2009 : During : During :----------------------------------------- State : Aug 2008 : Jul 2009 : : as % of : as % of : : : Number : 2008 : Jul -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : ----------- 1,000 Head ---------- ---- Percent ---- : AZ : 27 36 27 100 75 CA : 45 53 46 102 87 CO : 165 180 190 115 106 ID : 44 37 40 91 108 IA : 75 70 73 97 104 KS : 430 470 405 94 86 NE : 395 400 350 89 88 NM : 23 D/ D/ D/ D/ OK : 54 52 56 104 108 SD : 32 43 40 125 93 TX : 510 470 490 96 104 WA : 30 40 28 93 70 : Oth Sts1/ : 54 84 65 X/ 77 : US : 1,884 *1,935 1,810 96 94 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- * Revised. (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (X) Comparison to 2008 is not applicable. 1/ Includes unpublished New Mexico totals for 2009. Cattle on Feed: Other Disappearance, 1,000+ Capacity Feedlots, by Month, State, and United States 2008-2009 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : : During Aug 2009 : During : During :----------------------------------------- State : Aug 2008 : Jul 2009 : : as % of : as % of : : : Number : 2008 : Jul -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : --------- 1,000 Head --------- ---- Percent ---- : AZ : 1 1 1 100 100 CA : 2 2 2 100 100 CO : 5 5 5 100 100 ID : 1 1 2 200 200 IA : 2 1 1 50 100 KS : 10 10 15 150 150 NE : 10 10 10 100 100 NM : 1 D/ D/ D/ D/ OK : 1 2 2 200 100 SD : 1 1 1 100 100 TX : 10 5 10 100 200 WA : 1 1 1 100 100 : Oth Sts1/ : 4 4 5 X/ 125 : US : 49 43 55 112 128 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (D) Withheld to avoid disclosing data for individual operations. (X) Comparison to 2008 is not applicable. 1/ Includes unpublished New Mexico totals for 2009. 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 U.S. 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 98 percent of the cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head. 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 setting 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 following table. 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 less than 0.1 percent (0.04). This means that chances are 2 out of 3 that the final estimate will not be above or below the current estimate of 9.9 million head by more than 0.04 percent. Chances are 9 out of 10 that the difference will not exceed 0.1 percent. The following table also 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 2,000 head, ranging from 0 to 18,000 head. During this period the initial estimate has been above the final estimate 2 times and has been below the final estimate 5 times. This does not imply that the initial estimate is likely to understate or overstate final inventory. Reliability of Monthly Cattle on Feed Estimates 1/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : : 90% : Difference Between : : : Confidence : First and Final : Number of : Root : Level : Estimates : Months Item : Mean :--------------------------------------------------------- : Square : : : : : : First : First : Error :Percent: (000) :Average:Smallest:Largest: Above : Below : : : Head : : : : Final : Final -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- : Percent -------- 1,000 Head -------- Number : Number on : Feed : 0.0 0.1 9.9 2 0 18 2 5 : Placements : 0.2 0.3 6.3 2 0 10 2 6 : Marketings : 0.2 0.3 5.4 2 0 10 4 3 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1/ Based on data for the past 24 months. Information Contacts Listed below are the commodity specialists in the Livestock Branch of the National Agricultural Statistics Service to contact for additional information. Dan Kerestes, Chief, Livestock Branch.......................(202) 720-3570 Livestock Section Scott Hollis, Head, Livestock Section.......................(202) 690-2424 Jim Collom - Dairy Products.........................(202) 690-3236 Joe Gaynor - Dairy Products Prices..................(202) 690-2168 Jason Hardegree - Cattle, Cattle on Feed............(202) 720-3040 Sherry Bertramsen - Livestock Slaughter.............(515) 284-4340 Everett Olbert - Sheep and Goats....................(202) 720-4751 Mike Miller - Milk Production and Milk Cows.........(202) 720-3278 Nick Streff - Hogs and Pigs.........................(202) 720-3106 ACCESS TO REPORTS!! For your convenience, there are several ways to obtain NASS reports, data products, and services: INTERNET ACCESS All NASS reports are available free of charge. For free access, connect to the Internet and go to the NASS Home Page at: www.nass.usda.gov. 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