Cattle feeders were rewarded in last week’s standoff with higher prices in all regions. Packers will continue to slow harvest rates in an effort to hold the market in check.
Cattle feeders focused on helping cattle where they could through last week’s extreme heat and humidity. Packers looked to work the market lower, but relatively few cattle changed hands as cattle feeders held firm.
Attractive wholesale beef prices have encouraged packers to give up some inventory with aggressive slaughter numbers. Packers may need to get creative in the weeks ahead as numbers decline.
Packers desperate to keep their grasp on the cattle market looked to their inventory to keep the pressure on cash prices. Cattle feeders reluctantly traded lower.
The price spread between Northern cash cattle sales and Southern sales more than doubles as packers struggle to find inventory to maintain acceptable capacity utilization.
The current front-end supply and winter delayed calf-feds have the northern packers stretched for inventory. Will that aid feeders’ ability to push prices higher in the coming weeks?
