The CFTC alleges Easterday Ranches Inc., and Cody Easterday engaged in fraud for the sale of more than 200,000 non-existent cattle, making false statements to an exchange, and violating exchange-set position limits.
If the 2019 ratio between wholesale beef prices and cash fed cattle prices existed today, cash cattle prices would be $136 per cwt. That would amount to an additional $252 for a 1,400-pound fed steer.
Stocker and feeder cattle sold higher at auctions last week, but pressure on prices may develop as a result of the the WASDE report which projects smaller corn and soybean acres and higher grains prices.
The Department of Justice said Cody Easterday agreed to repay more than $244 million in restitution and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for a fraudulent scheme dating back to 2016.
Larry McMurtry’s epic novel about cowboys, cattle drives and grizzled Texas Rangers bore some similarities to real-life Texas pioneers and cattle drovers Charles Goodnight and Oliver Loving.
Calves and stocker cattle sold higher at auctions across the country the last full week of March. Feeder cattle futures rallied to new contract highs and settled up $1.15 to $2.325, with the May contract leading gains.
A wily steer that roamed the streets of Johnston, Rhode Island, for seven weeks has been captured. The Providence Journal reports the steer is back with his owner who said the steer is “fine, happy and healthy.”
At least 20 ships carrying livestock were caught up in the Suez Canal blockage, according to marine tracking data. Giant cargo ship Ever Given ran aground March 23 and was dislodged on Monday, March 29.
