United States Department of Agriculture

Charts and Maps:

Methodology and Quality Measures

March 11, 2024

• Methodology and Quality Measures
• Report Form

March 10, 2023

• Methodology and Quality Measures
• Report Form

March 11, 2022

• Methodology and Quality Measures
• Report Form

March 26, 2021

• Methodology and Quality Measures
• Report Form

Feb. 21, 2020

• Methodology and Quality Measures
• Report Form

March 29, 2019

• Methodology and Quality Measures
• Report Form

March 9, 2018

• Methodology and Quality Measures
• Report Form

Feb. 22, 2013

• Methodology and Quality Measures
• Report Form

Program Content

Cattle feeders provide data on inventory, placement into feedlots, marketing's from feedlots, and other disappearance from feedlots (deaths, returned to grazing, movement to another feedlot). They provide further information on placement by weight group, and inventory by class. Supplemental b n data about the number of lots by size group including lots with less than 1,000 head capacity are published annually in February.

Uses

The cattle on feed estimates provide an important near-term outlook for beef supplies coming to market. Current marketing's are heavily correlated with Livestock Slaughter. Cattle on feed placements by size group provide producers and analysts' information to forecast marketing's in a time period from approximately three to eight months following each monthly report.

Cumulative placements can be used with January and July Cattle reports to monitor feeder cattle supplies. Inventory by class can be used with January and July Cattle reports to monitor heifer retention in the cow/calf breeding herd.

Benefactors of these data series= range throughout the beef marketing channel. These would include cow/calf producers, backgrounding operations, cattle feeders, meat packers, wholesalers, and retailers. Cattle on feed inventories correlate with the utilization of feed grains, impacting these and other input suppliers.

Frequency

The Cattle on Feed survey is conducted monthly. Inventory by class, which breaks inventory into steers, heifers, and cows and bulls is asked on a quarterly basis. Estimates are published for the 12 largest states and the U.S.

Methods

The reference date for the surveys is the first day of each month. Data collection occurs for 7 to 10 days beginning at the reference date. Due to the repeated contact of the respondents, convenience of reporting by respondents is critical to the success of the program. A considerable amount of time and effort is expended to tailor the data collection to the operation as well as coordinate the data collection with other surveys underway. Mail out/mail back data collection is used and emphasized as a cost effective and less burdensome method of data collection. Relative to other surveys, a substantial number of personal interviews are conducted for operators who prefer and request this method. There are many extremely large cattle feeders who play a key role in many states= cattle industries, and every effort is put forth to build a partnership with them as reporters. However, the primary method of collecting data is phone enumeration.

Phone enumerators utilize Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI), a sophisticated software which allows them to verbally maintain a conversation with the respondent while following the instrument flow and question text. Reported data are entered directly into an electronic format and the software performs simple consistency checks as well as checks against previously reported data which drastically reduce the need to make follow up contacts to the respondent.

Special Features

In February, estimates of the total number of operations feeding cattle and the number of operations by herd size are also made. The total inventory for each range of herd size is included.

Related Programs

Cattle Inventory
Meat Animals: Production, Disposition, and Income
Livestock Slaughter