Nebraska feedlots, with capacities of 1,000 or more head, contained 2.37 million cattle on feed on February 1, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics, Nebraska Field Office. This inventory was down 1 percent from last year.

Placements during January totaled 410,000 head, up 3 percent from 2009.

Fed cattle marketings for the month of January totaled 380,000 head, up 6 percent from last year. Other disappearance during January totaled 20,000 head, compared to 10,000 head last year.

Nationwide, cattle and calves on feed for slaughter market in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.0 million head on February 1, 2010. The inventory was 3 percent below February 1, 2009.

Placements in feedlots during January totaled 1.83 million, 2 percent below 2009.

Marketings of fed cattle during January totaled 1.77 million, 2 percent above 2009. This is the third lowest fed cattle marketings for the month of January since the series began in 1996.

Other disappearance totaled 70,000 during January, 4 percent above 2009.