Iowa cattle feedlot placements soar 

Farmers in Iowa continue to add cattle while national placements trend lower.

Cattle and calves for the slaughter market, in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head in the U.S., totaled 11.8 million head on Feb. 1, slightly above year earlier levels, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) said last week. 

Nationally, placements in feedlots during January totaled 1.79 million head, 7% below 2023.

Iowa’s total inventory, in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head, was...