# January Cattle Inventory and Cattle on Feed Reports | Farm Bureau Intel Markets | American Farm Bureau Federation

> USDA's January cattle inventory showed all cattle and calves at 93.595 million head, slightly below a year earlier, with downward revisions to prior years. The monthly cattle on feed report surprised analysts with bearish placement data.

- Date: 2021-02-04 · published 2021-02-04T12:00:00.000Z
- Category: report · region US · magnitude medium
- Page: https://feedsoft.ai/events/48571-january-cattle-inventory-and-cattle-on-feed-reports-farm-bureau-intel-markets
- Commodities: [Live Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/LCATTLE.md), [Feeder Cattle](https://feedsoft.ai/c/FCATTLE.md)

## Why it matters

Lower herd numbers support cattle prices over time, while bearish feedlot placements signal softer near-term feeder demand and lower feeder cattle prices.

## Read by commodity

- FCATTLE: bearish ▼
- LCATTLE: bullish ▲

## Similar past events

| Commodity | Date | Event | 5-day % | 20-day % |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LCATTLE | 2024-02-05 | [U.S. Cattle Inventory Smallest in 73 years \| Farm Bureau Intel Markets \| American Farm Bureau Federation](https://feedsoft.ai/events/31619-u-s-cattle-inventory-smallest-in-73-years-farm-bureau-intel-markets-american.md) | +1.8% | +4.3% |
| LCATTLE | 2025-12-04 | [Bullish Cattle Report Does Not Indicate Herd Expansion \| Farm Bureau Intel Markets \| American Farm Bureau Federation](https://feedsoft.ai/events/21454-bullish-cattle-report-does-not-indicate-herd-expansion-farm-bureau-intel.md) | +4.1% | +8.1% |
| LCATTLE | 2023-02-02 | [Semiannual Cattle Inventory and Cattle Contract Library Set the Tone for the 2023 Marketing Year \| Farm Bureau Intel Markets \| American Farm Bureau Federation](https://feedsoft.ai/events/10215-semiannual-cattle-inventory-and-cattle-contract-library-set-the-tone-for-the.md) | +1.7% | +4.8% |
| LCATTLE | 2026-02-10 | [Smaller Cattle Herd Creates Market Volatility \| Farm Bureau Intel Markets \| American Farm Bureau Federation](https://feedsoft.ai/events/20724-smaller-cattle-herd-creates-market-volatility-farm-bureau-intel-markets.md) | +1.7% | -2.2% |
| LCATTLE | 2024-10-30 | [Farm Bureau: Low Inventory Leads to Uncertainty in Cattle Markets \| American Ag Network](https://feedsoft.ai/events/8085-farm-bureau-low-inventory-leads-to-uncertainty-in-cattle-markets-american-ag.md) | -1.3% | -1.6% |
| FCATTLE | 2021-05-27 | [USDA reports second largest inventory of cattle on feed since 1996](https://feedsoft.ai/events/4968-usda-reports-second-largest-inventory-of-cattle-on-feed-since-1996.md) | +12.1% | +15.1% |
| FCATTLE | 2019-12-02 | [Understanding 'Placements' in the Cattle on Feed Report](https://feedsoft.ai/events/55713-understanding-placements-in-the-cattle-on-feed-report.md) | -0.5% | +2.2% |
| FCATTLE | 2020-02-28 | [National feeder and stocker cattle report \| Capital Press](https://feedsoft.ai/events/12521-national-feeder-and-stocker-cattle-report-capital-press.md) | +0.8% | -1.3% |

## Sources

- fb.org: https://www.fb.org/intel/markets/january-cattle-inventory-and-cattle-on-feed-reports

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Data from Feedsoft AI (https://feedsoft.ai/). For information only; not investment advice.