Latest News From Greg Henderson

Cattle and hog feeding operations saw their margins remain modestly profitable last week with little movement in cash prices. Both cattle and hog feeding margins are higher than last year at the same time.

New research published by the National Academy of Sciences ties livestock meat packing plants to 6% to 8% of U.S. COVID-19 cases, and 3% to 4% of the deaths through late July.

The Choice beef cutout price has rallied nearly $30 in November while cash fed cattle prices have gained just $5. As a result, packer margins have increased while feeding margins struggle to remain above water.

While COVID-19 infections spiked at Tyson's Waterloo, Iowa, plant, supervisors allegedly placed bets on how many workers would become infected. Tyson CEO Dean Banks suspended the managers and announced an investigation.

Cattle and hog finishing margins are both modestly positive for the seventh consecutive week, though hog margins saw a slight decline with lower lean carcass prices.

Both mandatory and voluntary plans are offered to encourage market transparency.

Proposition 15 threatened voter-approved tax protections for commercial and agricultural properties enacted under Proposition 13, which passed with two-thirds majority in 1978.

Market analysts see signs that feedyards have significantly reduced the COVID-19-induced backlog of cattle and are regaining currentness, also a key factor in the recent market rally.