Cattle on feed numbers as of Jan. 1 were up 8 percent from a year earlier, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The monthly report pegged the number of cattle on feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 head at 11.5 million. Placements rose 1 percent to 1.8 million head, and marketings were 1 percent lower at 1.75 million.

In Iowa, there were 700,000 head of cattle on feed in larger feedlots, up 17 percent from a year earlier. Placements, at  100,000, were down 4 percent in the...