Packers were willing to take a little lower grading animal last week, but cattle feeders may have a limited window to get those undesirable cattle market before larger supplies appear on showlists.
Cash cattle trade looked to be a repeat of the last several weeks with packers grudgingly upping bids. It was not a huge increase, but it is a sign that the number of front-end cattle available is becoming shorter.
The number of high end market ready cattle should be limited for the next several weeks. If the cattle feeder has any opportunity to take any of the margin from the packer the time may be upon us.
Holidays are out of our way, but packers have begun their fall cooler cleanings. This rotation will keep at least one plant running short for several weeks and will continue to keep fed cattle harvest to a minimum.
The fed cattle market in the South continued to inch higher last week. Now that we have the holiday behind us packers should have a greater need for cattle than what we have seen for the last several weeks.
Deferred cattle futures prices suggest cash cattle should rally going forward, and many cattle feeders are in a position to dig in and fight for higher prices.
