Finally, the 2014 holiday season came to a close and 2015 cash cattle trading resumed after the bearish fiasco that ended an impressive record breaking year on a sour note. Just like most of us figured, fed cattle and feeders […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
This is New Year’s week and the number of cattle reports is smaller than normal. Boxed beef prices rose for the second week in a row. This morning the boxed beef cutout value for choice carcasses was $248/cwt, up […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Cattle and beef markets are finishing 2014 at or near record levels, which is the way the year began…at or near record levels. However the advance in prices has been much more dramatic in 2014. Retail beef prices are up […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
SUPPLIES REMAIN TIGHT AMID ROBUST CONSUMER DEMAND Rabobank has issued a new report on the global beef industry, looking at continued tight global supply of cattle and beef in Q4 2014. In the report, published by Rabobank’s Food & Agribusiness […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
There were 396.619 million pounds of beef in cold storage at the end of November. That is 12% less than a year ago. Frozen beef stocks have been below the year-ago level every month of 2014. After three weeks of […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
All the ingredients came together to cause a significant break in feeder cattle markets in the last week of cash market trading before the Christmas and New Year’s holiday break. The impact on cash feeder cattle markets came after several […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The December cattle on feed report contained no surprises. USDA said the number of cattle on feed in large feedlots at the start of December was up 1.4% compared to December 2013. The pre-release trade forecast was for the on-feed […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Cash cattle prices fell under extreme pressure from sharply lower CME cattle futures this past week to end the record breaking year of 2014 on a sour note. CME feeder cattle contracts locked-down the 3.00 limit for five consecutive days, […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Heading into the New Year is a good time to think about price and basis levels. The markets currently reflect steep inversions as cash prices for live and feeder cattle are higher than their respective futures prices. On the basis […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
March 2015 corn futures traded to a high of $4.115 on December 15, the highest level since July 10 and $0.80 above the low reached on October 1. The average spot cash price at South-Central Illinois elevators was reported at […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Feeder cattle movement slowed this past week after the stampede of sales that took place last week, following the Thanksgiving holiday. Sharply lower CME cattle futures pressured demand, especially on yearlings and big calves headed right into the feedlot. Sharply […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Year-over-year beef imports were up a whopping 49.2% in October. The big increase was due largely to more beef coming from Australia. During the first 10 months of 2014 beef imports are up 25.3%. U.S. beef exports were down 3.4% […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
So much of the recent news in this publication series and elsewhere has revolved around the record level of prices and the implications for herd expansion. Typically record prices are joined at the hip with increased price risk (the high […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Calf trading was active on heavy receipts this past week as salebarn numbers were three-fold what they were for the holiday shortened week. The week after Thanksgiving is traditionally busy for calf sales at auction. It is the culmination of […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Bitter cold temperatures swept most of the country early this past week with all fifty states recording freezing mercury levels, which is abnormal for November. Measurable snowfall also fell in scattered spots throughout the Plains and Mountain States, but nothing […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The number of cattle on feed at the start of November is above the year-ago level for the first time since August 2012. Fed cattle prices continue to set new records buoyed by record retail beef prices. The 5 area […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Fed cattle prices surged to new record highs last week as tight supplies of cattle continue to support the market. USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) reported the average 5-area weekly weighted average direct fed steer price at $169.90 which was up […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Livestock producers can look forward to an economic “mini-boom” that may last for the next several years, providing opportunities for expansion of herds and flocks, Purdue University agricultural economist Chris Hurt says. Hurt said high grain prices from 2006-2012 led […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
Calf prices were very uneven this past week both regionally and depending on the size/weight of the calves. Generally, calves weighing over 550 lbs sold mostly 5.00 lower especially across the Southeast and in the Northern Plains albeit at a […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…
The November WASDE increased by 0.4% USDA’s forecast of 2014 beef production, but lowered their forecast of next year’s production by 0.5%. They now predict 2014 beef production will be down 4.9% from last year and next year’s beef production […] ↓ Read the rest of this entry…