According to the February 2018 USDA Cattle on Feed Report, the total inventory of U.S. cattle and calves on feed in 1,000+ capacity feedlots was 11.6 million head, up 8% from February 2017. The five leading states for cattle on feed included Nebraska (2.67 million head), Texas (2.65 million), Kansas (2.32 million), Colorado (960,000), and Iowa (720,000).

Iowa’s February cattle on feed estimates increased 3% from the previous month, and have jumped 13% from February 2017 going from 640,000 to 720,000 head. All of the major states in cattle on feed inventories have seen increases over the past year including Nebraska (9%) Texas (8%), Colorado (7%), and Kansas (5%). Several states with smaller COF numbers also saw strong growth on a percent basis including California (14%), Arizona (15%), and Washington (11%).