The number of cattle on feed in the United States surprised analysts last week, livestock economists Len Steiner and Steve Meyer said last week.

Based on the average of analyst pre-report estimates, the total number of cattle on feed as of April 1 was expected to be down 0.3 percent from a year ago, Steiner and Meyer noted. However, the number of cattle on feed in the United States actually showed an increase of 0.47 percent.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s monthly cattle on feed report showed cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in U.S. feedlots with...