Cattle feeders in the South were able to keep the market mostly steady to higher for the week. Most cash trades were $95-$96 with producers finding themselves in a position to pass on lower bids for front end cattle.
The more current status of feedyards in the North has given the regions feeders more opportunity to fight for higher market prices than feeders in the South.
Packers should be back to six-day work weeks now that we are through the July 4th holiday, but an abundance of protein in the system should be expected to hamper cattle markets this summer.
Cattle feeders knew selling ahead of a short holiday week would create additional challenges for cash cattle prices and the ability to move cattle. Unfortunately, trade volumes met low expectations.
The downward spiral in the cash cattle trade is ongoing as the number of market-ready cattle continues to grow. Showlists are already overburdened to date, and market-ready cattle add to the list weekly.
Packers continued to keep the trading range wide last week while lowering their bids. Many feeders passed on bids they believe are not reflective of current cattle values.
Cash prices are steady for now, but Tyson turned down some cattle last week that they thought are now too big, which is a huge concern other feeders may encounter in the near future.
Cash cattle prices traded higher last week, and for the first time in several weeks most of the major beef packing plants should be up and running this week, though not full-throttle.
