LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Federal authorities say the number of cattle in Nebraska feedlots with capacities of 1,000 or more contained 2.48 million head on Jan. 1.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says the new figure is 3 percent under the total from a year ago.
Marketings totaled 425,000 head, which was 12 percent higher than last year. Placements totaled 390,000 head, which was up 3 percent from Jan. 1, 2011.
USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service says the state's Dec. 1 total of cattle on feedlots was 2.53 million head, which was slightly lower than the year-ago figure.
Nationwide, the Jan. 1 number of cattle and calves on feed was 11.2 million head, which was 6 percent under the total from a year ago.
