Cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 9.8 million head on Aug. 1, 2014, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said in a report last week. The inventory was 2 percent below Aug, 1, 2013.

Analysts expected the report to show fewer cattle entered feedlots in July as higher prices discouraged some feedyard managers from buying calves.

There were 600,000 head on feed in Iowa feedlots with a capacity of 1,000 or more on Aug. 1, the report said. This was down 20,000 head from last month, but up 40,000 head from August 2013.

Placements in U.S. feedlots during July totaled 1.56 million, 7 percent below 2013. There were 56,000 head of cattle placed in ...