Seasonal pressure on females, calves, feeders
By Drovers news staff
| Sunday, November 15, 2009
Young, bred females continue to represent the lone bright spot in an otherwise dismal cattle market. Every other class of replacement females saw lower bids during October, and that seasonal trend is likely to persist until the calendar changes to 2010.
Feedyards continue to struggle with negative margins, which, along with increasing supplies, have placed seasonal pressure on calf and feeder markets. Late October and November should produce the tightest supplies of fed cattle, which provides optimism for higher prices. But soft consumer demand has proven to be a significant hurdle for all livestock markets this fall, and improvements in the U.S. economy have yet to show up in the beef complex.
Seasonal cow culling this fall may continue to pressure the slaughter cow markets, but declining cow inventories suggest support next year for young and middle-aged breeding cows.
