Cattle and calves on feed for the slaughter market in the U.S. for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 10.3 million head on Oct. 1, 2016. The inventory was slightly above Oct.1, 2015. The inventory included 6.83 million steers and steer calves, down 2 percent from  the previous year. This group accounted for 67 percent of the total inventory. Heifers and heifer calves accounted for 3.44 million head, up 4 percent from 2015. Placements in feedlots during September totaled 1.91 million head, 2 percent below 2015. Placements were the lowest for September since the series began in 1996. Click here to read the entire report from the USDA…