Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.3 million head on July 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said last week. The inventory was 4 percent above July 1, 2017. This is the highest July 1 inventory since the series began in 1996.

There were 710,000 cattle on feed in Iowa feedlots as of July 1, 2018, up 6 percent from July 1, 2017, the USDA said in its report.

Placements in U.S. ...