Markets

Cattle Digest Record Cash, Brazil Import Talk: Grains Try to Recover

Fri, 08 May 2026 20:45:22 GMT

Livestock were leaning higher early Friday. Soybeans higher and corn and wheat mixed.

Cattle Recover With Record Cash
Cattle futures were higher on Friday after recovering well off the early lows on Thursday.

Scott Varilek of Kooima Kooima Varilek says cash trade developed in the South at $256 to $258, up $2 to $3.

However, in the North trade started at $256 but by the end of the day trade was all the way up to $260. Dressed prices ranged from $400 to $405 with the volume at $402, up $3.

He says it was unexpected after the $10 to $12 higher cash last week. “That was the surprise, the highlight from yesterday where we have markets that are crashing in a big, big fashion. Then all of a sudden we started to hear some cash bids in the South and it was $256 in Kansas or Texas. And then all of a sudden it was $257 up to Kansas, then $258. Then you’re getting $260 rumors around the North. People start asking $260 and some guys got it. It was, wow, never been higher cash,” he details.

That brought the board back on Thursday and helped with the early rally on Friday.

He says the record cash cleaned up the showlists and packers were buying for delayed deliver as well, which is bullish.

“I heard the $260 mainly in the North, you know, it kind of started in Western Nebraska, but they sell with a 4% shrink there. And then when it kind of finally came to Eastern Nebraska and Iowa, that’s with a 3% shrink. So that’s even a better price yet. I didn’t hear a mountain of anything, I guess, as far as the South goes at $260, but they trade such small numbers anyway. I guess it wouldn’t surprise me if they did. But we’re likely done,” he adds.

Cattle Market Broke on Brazil Import Fear
“Yesterday’s news was the Brazilian president coming up to the White House to meet with President Trump. And I think that just started some fears, that are we going to import some more beef raise the quota so we we can bring more in because President Trump says beef’s too high,” he explains.

So the market reacted and turned significantly lower.

However, by the end of the meeting Varilek says they didn’t address beef and agreed to keep talking.

“So, we saw a big recovery yesterday as it kind of started to diminish those fears just a little bit on that news.”

DOJ Probe
There was also increased talk about a DOJ probe into meat packer price fixing which may have also spooked the market.

The Assistant Attorney General detailed actions against AgriFax for price fixing in the pork, chicken and turkey business and how that would be used as a precedent for the beef packing industry.

He says, “I think that’s just some extra uncertainty we’re throwing on the market. You know, I think we all look at the big four and, you know, us that are in the production industry, we understand that that’s been frustrating for many, many years. And, you know, where you want to say, yeah, that sounds like a great idea. It just makes you a little nervous. You know, the government’s getting involved. If they swing a big stick, it could really change the whole scheme of things, I guess. And just that uncertainty that circles around it is a little bit scary. So what does that look like? We’ve got some foreign-owned packers. We’ve got the big four that we talk about all the time and love to complain about. But just when their hands get in there, I think you’re a little bit nervous just what the outcome could be there.”

Retest the Highs?
So can the cattle futures retest the all-time highs with the help of the cash news?

Varilek says the one thing that may hold the market back is boxed beef values. They were lower on the close yesterday and while the negotiated totals are a small part of the actual sales, the trend is concerning.

“Just the prices that we are seeing are pretty lackluster and in the height of our demand season we’ve got Mother’s Day weekend coming up. The choice select spread negative and not seeing any major you know rallies in these boxes that’s a little bit alarming,” he adds.

Next Cattle on Feed Report
The other factor that could start to turn the market sentiment is bigger on feed and placement numbers in the next Cattle on Feed Report.

He says, “We’re going to have to start getting used to that just a little bit as we’re comparing to historical tight numbers from the year prior. So wondering what that does to the market. Does it start to drop off those deferreds as we see more numbers, get used to some, you know, seeing some of those on feed reports that aren’t just super duper friendly. So I think that’s something to keep an eye on here. We already have the deferreds kind of holding back. you know, thinking there’s more numbers coming, it’s going to happen later. And it kind of creates that bull spread market when, well, cash is still $260. So I guess the front’s got to stay up.”

He also expects numbers to start to creep up with the drought and some cattle being sold early due to the lack of pasture or some cows being culled.

“We culled this cow herd really hard two years ago. Last year really kind of took that off. I think started to rebuild, keeping those cows back. keeping some heifers back, and that’s going to give us some long-term hope that we’re going to get some supply back. But the only other factor is it’s dry in cow-calf country. Grass is running a little short, so does that kind of start to kick the can down the road? And maybe we’ve got to bring some of those extra numbers back into town early,” he further explains.

Cargill’s Fort Morgan Plant Dark
Meanwhile the Cargill plant in Fort Morgan is still dark as workers are still not back to work but the market has really faded the news.

“And not hearing anything about it. It just seems like, you know, the Greeley plant was in everyday news and we talked about it. We maybe had more to talk about. This one doesn’t have any news and we’re just kind of brushing it off,” he says.

Hogs Mostly Higher
The hog futures were mostly higher Friday except for the spot month as Varilek says the back months are still building in premium on tighter supplies tied to disease.

Still the cash market has not taken off so the futures are being bear spread.

“Supply traders are all starting to push disease back to more through July and October that’s what it looks like now,” he adds.

PRV Export Restrictions
The front end of the cattle futures are also pressured by the news that Mexico is looking at restricting U.S. pork variety meat imports due to the cases of Pseudorabies in Iowa.

“Mexico talking about curbing some exports and making some different requirements for us. So, that’s a little bit of ripple effect that’s starting to happen is that’s there there could be some effect and you’ve got pork we rely on exports for that industry. So, Mexico being our number one customer that’s a that’s a one to swallow,” he says.

Grains Try to Recover
The grain markets have had a tough week trading lower with the energy markets on a possible cease fire with Iran and opening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran rejected the deal so energy markets recovered on Thursday and are around steady on Friday.

That is helping the grain markets recover.

“And I think it just shows you how much war premium is in that market. You know, the energies were really on fire at some very high levels. And when they started to correct mainly because there’s more ceasefire hopes there’s hopes that we’re going to going to make a deal took the wind out of the sails of those energy markets and grains absolutely followed that down,” he says.

Corn and soybeans held support on Thursday on the charts and so they are bouncing off those levels but have retreated down to the lower levels of the trading range.

WASDE and China Summit
The markets may also see some positioning going into the end of the week, and with the May WASDE and the China summit scheduled for next week.

Varilek says the China trade hopes should support buying in the soybeans but the WASDE may not be that friendly.

“You know, we always get that reminder of our ending stock number and how much supply that we have. And hopefully it’s a surprise. And we’ve really started to chew into it from some of this increased energy demand,” he says.

He is also expecting lower wheat production estimates from USDA based on poor conditions in hard red winter areas and with the Kansas Wheat Quality Council tour likely to confirm lower production.

Beef Profit Tracker: Packers and Feeders See Sharp Gains as Market Surges

Wed, 06 May 2026 14:31:28 GMT

Beef packers fared much better last week in the face a higher Beef Cutout which was up $3/cwt. from the prior week, and a lower cost of cattle paid two weeks prior for slaughter last week. The 5-Area Direct Choice steer price 2 weeks prior for slaughter last week averaged $246.19/cwt. and advanced to $255.13/cwt. last week.

Sterling Packer Margins averaged -$123.15/head against -$188.23/head the previous week. Another contributing factor was the sharply higher drop credit averaging $219.43/head and the highest since the week of Nov. 19, 2022.

Feedlot margins also improved sharply last week averaging $193.33/head compared to -$2.50/head a week earlier.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending May 2.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)

Cattle Fall After Reversal, Is the Top In? Corn Above $5, Beans to New Highs

Mon, 04 May 2026 22:24:04 GMT

Grains end mostly higher Monday, with cattle and hogs lower.

Have Cattle Topped?
Live and feeder cattle futures were down for a second day on follow through selling. Both made record highs on Friday and then closed lower on big volume scoring key reversals.

So is the top in the cattle market?

Brad Kooima of Kooima Kooima Varilek says it is dangerous to try to pick a high in this market but it fits the profile of a technical top.

“Some 45 years ago I learned a reversal has to be from a terminal area, which is just a fancy way of saying an important area. And I don’t know what’s more important than the all time high. So, we did that on Friday. It has to be done on big volume. It was 86,000. It should be accompanied by an increase in open interest, and it was. And then the third thing is that it should have followed through the following day,” he explains.

However, he says the market ended well off the lows because at one time feeder cattle were over $7 lower and the June live cattle closed almost $3.50 off its lows.

“While it was still lower, it was a long ways from where it was,” he says.

Cattle Hold Critical Support
So the market held the support it needed to on the charts because according to Kooima June live cattle stayed above the 50-day and the
20-day moving averages, which has been kind of significant to keep an eye on.

“August feeders got a little whippy. We got all the way down to 62% retracement, then held that. So I’d say we did good enough holding what I think was technically important,” he adds.

Cash Trade Topped?
Several fundamental factors may have also caused the sell off including this week’s cash expectations.

Last week the cash market hit record high levels with Southern deals mostly $244 to $256, up $9 to $10. The North was $255 to $258 live and mostly $400 dressed, up $14.

The average steer price was reported by USDA at a new record high of $255.02, up $8.84. So it will be hard to see an encore.

“I mean, the market was basically $246 last week, Wednesday, I think. I know I passed $248 on Friday then, but if you compare like $246 and then getting cattle as high as $258 last week. You find me a week where that happened before. There was a couple of weeks in 2014 that were like that, but maybe not quite that much,” he says.

Kooima adds that it is interesting the packers came out already so aggressively on Tuesday and Wednesday, to try to buy cattle.

“And dovetail that with the fact that a month ago or so, there was plenty of these basis deals made by some of the major packers where they were willing to pay five or six over where the Junes were for the first two weeks of May. At that time, that was the equivalent of like $252 on cash cattle. At the same time, the cash market was probably $5 to $7 less than that. Well, a lot of guys did that because that looked pretty attractive, right? Turns out it’s cheap now compared to what the packer paid last week,” he explains.

So the packer was trying to get enough inventory so they didn’t have to work so hard to secure as many numbers this week theorizes Kooima.

“So you’re going to have a standoffish week on cash, maybe. Let’s call it steady due to lack of trade, perhaps, just because I don’t think we’ve
got very small show lists up here in the North, very small. So we don’t have much for sale, but you might have a packer that might not need to buy much,” he says.

Kill Cuts
That because the packers are trying to cut kills this week to prop up their margins.

“I’m not going to say names, but there’s plenty of them that are going four days this week. And one’s down today. A couple of them are down Friday. So the packer is trying to do whatever is necessary to not have to chase the market anymore,” he adds.

That was already a pressuring feature for the market on Friday.

High Gas, Stock Market Sell Off
Also working against the cattle market was the surging gas prices and the sharply lower stock market.

At some point that becomes negative for consumer demand. “One has the worry that, you know, and the inflation or the stress on the budget that’s created by that. And let’s be honest. I mean, boxed beef is no runaway with this tight kill. And it is less than a week now till Mother’s Day. We’re already past that. Usually two weeks ahead of Mother’s Day. That’s kind of your signal for let’s begin the middle meat rally. So hopefully it
still develops. But I think. There was some of that going on today,” he says.

So that created some technical selling especially with the funds nearly record long.

DOJ Probe
Adding to the bearish attitude was USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins reiterating the goal of the Trump administration to get beef prices down.

Part of that strategy includes a Department of Justice investigation of the beef packing industry.

He says, “I’m not sure that Secretary Rollins commentary this morning was helpful to the market either, bringing up the concept of investigating the big four. You know, probably if you’re an algorithm trader and you’re trading, you might think, you know what, I don’t think I want to be participating in this kind of uncertainty.”

DOJ has probed the packing industry in the past only to walk away empty handed but it spooked the funds.

“There’s things that have happened historically that deserve some looking into including the Holcomb fire. I was very vocal through that period about how we killed more cattle after the fire than before it but they couldn’t see anything wrong then. You know, I mean, we had 85 cent cattle and $450 boxes. So, you know, so what are they going to find now?”

Hogs Down Again
Lean hog futures were down again on Monday with continued fund liquidation and technical selling.

Kooima says the market got spooked about the pseudorabies case in Iowa on Thursday and Friday.

He was hopeful with the positive comments Iowa Secretary of Ag Mike Naig made about the problem being contained that the market would stablize.

“He outlined how everything got tested. These were five boars from Texas and an isolated incident. We’ve got protocol in place and we haven’t had a case since 2004. I was hoping that maybe cooler heads would prevail,” he adds.

Kooima says the cash news is pretty friendly but the market can’t find support and the charts look terrible.

“The inability to source pigs because of the disease problems is real. What these pigs cost, close to $100 on an isowean, $150 on a 40-pounder, would tell you just how tight the supply is. So, you know, I have a tendency to be a little bit of a supply-side bull here with nothing to show for it.”

Soybeans Break to Fresh Highs
Soybeans ended 16 to 21 cents higher on Monday and made new highs for the move in both old and new crop contracts.

The market was following bean oil which made more new contract and multi-year highs once again chasing higher crude oil.

The market was also building in optimism ramping up into the trade summit next week in China.

“The hope that we get something tangible with this China visit. I would caution everybody be a little careful as this is China. They’re a bit disingenuous and not the most reliable trade partner but that is out there,” he states.

The crude oil/bean oil story is also a drive as he says with higher energy prices there is the fear of inflation.

“I think is reflecting in some of our commodity prices here, too, most notably some of the stuff that is relatively cheap, like the grains are,” he adds.

How High Will Soybeans Rally?
With the chart breakout will July soybeans be able to take out the March high of $12.50 3/4 and will November soybeans get above $12?

Kooima says both of those moves are in the cards. “Based on the chart pattern here and the fact we have broke out of the range we have been in for six or seven weeks. When you break out of those consolidation patterns that it’s like coiling a spring. I always think the tighter it’s wound then the bigger reaction you get. So, this thing actually projects through that old $12.50 area on the July beans which is a big deal. On both the
weekly chart and on the daily chart it actually opens up the path here for a move to $12.70 or even maybe even closer to $13 on the old crop.”

That could put November in the $12.40 to $12.50 price range where he would suggest some marketing.

Corn Makes Fresh Highs, Dec Closes Above $5
Corn also made fresh highs for the move in sympathy with soybeans and on fund buying.

Funds bought over 80,000 contracts and could add to that Kooima says.

“You don’t have to be a genius to look at $4.85 to $4.87 on the July corn to know how important that is. Let’s see if we can take that out. December corn, you know, that’s new highs for the move. Nice looking chart pattern. We are kind of overbought here. I don’t know if we need to rest just a little bit. But, you know, incrementally, I was starting to look at some new crop sales here. And then the next level at around $5.20. And then the next one around $5.45. I’m more inclined to sell into the corn rally.”

He says the market is also watching weather, lower acreage and fertilizer concerns plus whether or not China buys corn at the summit.

Cattle Futures Hit Record Highs, Are $400 Feeders Next? Hogs Fall on Pseudorabies

Fri, 01 May 2026 16:06:08 GMT

Cattle, corn and soybeans higher Friday, with hogs lower.

Feeders Hit Record Highs, How High Will Prices Go?
Live cattle and feeder cattle futures were higher on Friday’s open and quickly moved into record high territory.

Scott Varilek of Kooima Kooima Varilek says tight supplies and a record cash market have supported the move to new highs.

Feeder are back as the leaders in the complex but how high will prices go now that prices are back up into record highs?

He says, “It does feel like, okay, live cattle had already made their contract highs. Feeders were next. So, what numbers can we grab? I’ve heard the $380. I’ve heard the $390. I’ve heard the $400. We’re all just reaching, making up numbers that we can. We’ve already seen eight weights spring $400 in sale barns in the North. So it’s not something out of the ordinary that can’t happen. So once we bust through, it feels like, yeah, they have the legs to do it.”

He stresses that this could be the last higher push for a while.

“We’re going to want to be ready for it. I think this is our last charge higher. I guess it’s feeling like we’re getting towards the ninth inning of this. I think we’ve probably heard that a few times, but this is a rally that is going to be the one that’s going to be the one that we’re going to want to sell, I guess. So the chance to get to $4 is there. It really could happen,” he adds.

Live Cattle Hit Record Highs First
Live cattle had already hit record highs earlier in the week and took out those levels again on Friday.

The market says some end of month profit taking Thursday but charged back higher Friday morning chasing cash.

Record cash trade broke already on Tuesday at $11, $12 higher than last week at $258 in the North, $255 to $256 in the South.

He says it caught the market by surprise, “I mean, that’s not something that’s normal. And it’s odd because when we were getting bid the $246, And the market wasn’t trading as hot as it was. I think the packers could have just went to $248 and bought all of the show lists and bought all
of the cattle. The fact that they waited another week, was it a shoot, you caught me bluffing move? Or was there somebody that’s really long, this board that wanted it to go higher? I don’t know and we won’t know. But regardless. Big charge higher, $12.”

He says bids started Tuesday at $250 and quickly went to $252 and then to $255.

“I thought that would do it. And then was just surprised when I started hearing that everybody was passing it and then get to $258, which a lot of people did get that and did trade that. You could get it for shorter. You could get two over the August for basis contracts. So, the packer was trying to get as many cattle around them as they can. And I would believe that everything on the show list, if you’re passing that kind of price, I don’t know what you’re waiting for,” he adds.

He hasn’t seen anything like it since 2014 but it was a big inventory grab and packers bought for delayed delivery as well.

Packers Buy Ahead of Kill Cuts
Packers were aggressively getting inventory as they are talking about kill cuts starting next week.

“Just hearing that there’s some majors that are going to start kill cuts next week, start to slow down the chain. And I mean, it’s just, it’s how tight we are. In this cattle industry, we’re, you know, 8% down, 8 to 9% down on steer to heifer slaughter this year. Cow slaughter is way down. Dairy cow slaughter is down. It’s just there’s still a shortage. So this last little push is all on supply, in my opinion. And I think that’s how the packer is trying to manage it,” he explains.

He says they are cutting kills to get boxed beef to move higher and improve their margins and the industry is still down a plant from a strike.

How High Will Live Cattle Futures Run?
Live cattle have continued to push into record high areas but how high will prices go?

Varilek says it is hard to even project because there are no technical areas on the charts to even compare to now.

“You’re up in new territory. You’re just grabbing, you know whatever number comes to your mind somebody wants to say a really high number so they can get remembered. I would rather try to do you guys some good rather than just make up a number up high and try to throw it to you that’s just that’s all made up,” he adds.

But he does say it depends not just on supply but demand.

“For me it’s just that this demand is going to have to pick up if we’re going to keep these live cattle running through and that’s the part that’s seeming to be just a little bit lacking. Seeing mixed feelings on what these steak cuts are doing. You know, the ribeye rolls are down. Usually we’re trying to, you know, see how high we can get those or how much a consumer is going to pay for them this time of year in the red hot grilling season, Mother’s Day weekend coming up and we’re actually dropping them a little bit. So I don’t like that,” he further explains.

Plus, he says with energy prices soaring it is hitting consumer pocketbooks which could also ratchet back demand.

Hogs Fall on Iowa Pseudorabies Case
Lean hog futures were down on Thursday and again Friday with the uncertainty tied to the first case of pseudorabies in a hog herd in Iowa since 2004.

“So it’s five boars that were shipped, you know, were. tested positive and some were shipped from Texas to Iowa. So sounding like it was show pigs, not sure. Can’t totally confirm that, but that would make sense on how that happened,” he says.

However, the disease is manageable according to Varilek.

“So we have vaccination capabilities already, protocol in place. So, for me it’s okay I think we’re going to be able to eradicate this once again and make this a short-lived kind of a worry here because it it is something that that’s real and I mean it’s something that can have you know
they could be dead within 48 to 72 hours. Hogs are a great host likely mixed with some feral hogs so it is around.”

Is it Bullish or Bearish?
Varilek says it does severely cut production which takes supply off the market which is bullish.

However, it is still a market uncertainty.

“So uncertainty is always bearish. Packers are trying to note some certain timeframes where they would kill hogs with pseudo rabies. So they were still entering, you know. you know, the meat supply. We weren’t worried about it back then. So because they had windows where you could slaughter those hogs. So a lot to digest here real fast. Everybody’s Googling pseudorabies and trying to learn as much as they can here real fast,” he adds.

Nov Soybeans Hit Contract Highs, Corn Also Higher
Corn and soybeans were higher early with November soybeans making new contract highs.

Varilek soybeans are following the new contract highs in bean oil.

“That seems to be the biggest thing, just the energy is staying so strong. And that’s making a lot of the headlines, the war. and how high crude oil is. So, I think that those markets are starting to respect that. I mean from a production side yeah you said more acres we’re seeing a little bit of replant we’ve got some frost. Which usually those rallies that are based off of frost and replant those are rallies that are meant to be sold. But I don’t think that that’s all of this I do think it’s energy,” he states.

Can Dec Corn Get Above $5?
Corn is also higher on the biofuels push with strong ethanol margins and profits.

With $100 crude oil corn could stay supported for a while and chew through some of the large ending stocks.

So will Dec corn get above $5?

Varilek says, “So we’ve got a bar right there, $5. We’ve seen it fail there a few times. Now I think if you just poke through it. I think you’re going to get some follow through strength on it just because it’s been such a number. Oh, that looks easy. Just sell it right below five bucks here and let it break. But those triple tops never hold, they kind of say. So I feel like we’re going to be able to get through it and might get some follow
through.”

He adds that the funds are long corn and the news may finally be good enough to rally the corn and grain markets.

CAB Insider: April 29

Wed, 29 Apr 2026 23:14:17 GMT

Fed cattle prices moderated slightly in last week’s trade with a $2/cwt. decline to average $246/cwt., just off the record high observed two weeks ago.

Last week’s 529,000 harvested total appears robust in a season when an erratic pattern of weekly head counts has bounced between 502,000 and 529,000 since mid-March. No doubt, worsening packer margins have been the overriding theme — intertwined with the temporary JBS Greeley, Colo., plant shutdown — through this time frame.

(Certified Angus Beef)

In reviewing total federally inspected harvest numbers, it’s important to factor in the normal seasonal decline in cull cow harvest during the spring. This year, the cull dairy cow harvest has declined from 60,000 head per week to 50,000 per week (-16%) from mid-February through early April. In the same period, cull beef cows have pulled back from 40,000 head to about 36,000 head (-10%) weekly. The confirmed year-to-date total cow harvest is down 4.6% compared to last year, whereas the fed steer and heifer total is down 8.8%.

The month of April closes out with a bang as live cattle futures set new record highs. With one day left on the contract, April live cattle traded at $256.35/cwt. by noon Wednesday. New highs will be recorded this week in the spot market as well, with Tuesday’s fed cattle business primarily conducted at $255/cwt., a $9/cwt. leap since Friday.

On the boxed beef side of the ledger, the market has recently eased lower in expected seasonal fashion from March through April. As the calendar turns to May, the smaller fed cattle harvest volume has turned a bit higher, driven by increasing end-user volume needs. Even so, market anticipation is that spot beef demand will get a boost from overall tighter supplies and continued consumer demand.

Beef Month Anticipation

May is “Beef Month,” and many in the supply chain are anxious to see what this important season has in store for cattle and beef values. So far in 2026, consumers have shown strong support for the most preferred protein in the market. Yet higher cutout values may test demand as higher gasoline prices and weakening consumer sentiment raise caution.

A look at wholesale prices indicates that demand for middle meat — steak — remains seasonally mixed, with CAB ribeyes recently priced at $11.80/lb., 14% cheaper than a year ago and 7% cheaper than a month ago. A strong weakening in the rib price trend in April is not uncommon, as three of the last five years saw a similar downtrend, while 2021 and 2025 featured a rapidly increasing rib market. A conservative estimate suggests wholesale ribeyes could rise above $14/lb. by June, adding nearly $40 of value per carcass.

Tenderloin demand typically increases modestly ahead of Mother’s Day, with just a 14% increase from February seasonal lows to early May. This year has featured a 4.5% softening of wholesale CAB tenderloin prices for the season since early March.

Strip loins are the classic “in demand” steak cut for spring, with a 26% price increase dating back to Jan. 1 through June over the past five years. This year’s price pattern is developing near expectations, with a recent 6% pullback from the March high. There is plenty of room for strip loin prices to increase 15% by late June.

(Certified Angus Beef)

Shifting focus to the lower-priced steak options shows strong recent demand for these cuts. CAB top sirloin butts had a massive price run in the first quarter, with a 22% increase into mid-March. This uncharacteristic early demand has since corrected lower, but historic sirloin price patterns suggest a potential 15% wholesale increase by mid-June.

The loin complex is currently boosted by chart-topping ball tips, priced at an amazing 50% increase over a year ago and a stout 44% higher than early February. This popular item for Cinco de Mayo typically gets a small seasonal increase ahead of the early May holiday. This year’s unexpectedly high demand suggests broader use of the cheaper cut, even as the current $6.67/lb. wholesale average nears its record high of $6.90/lb. touched briefly during the pandemic shutdowns. Also from the loin primal, CAB tri-tips are recently 31% pricier than a year ago, steadily higher within seasonal expectations. In keeping with other loin items, tri-tip prices are historically expected to increase by another 23% through June.

Briskets, flanks and plates combine to make up just 15.5% of total carcass weight. Unfortunate, given that these lighter primals are seeing some of the stoutest demand, marked by major price increases, of any beef cuts. The average price increase across the three is 38% over a year ago, while the total CAB cutout price is just 15% over a year ago.

Carcass cutout values show a promising setup with plenty of room to run higher over the next 60 days. Underpinned by ground beef prices, grilling demand should pull not only ribeye and strip loin prices higher, but also a handful of value steak items, which will likely gain attention as consumers budget their beef buying. Anticipated spot market demand growth will be important to keep processing margins moving in the right direction as fed cattle costs mark new record highs.

Beef Profit Tracker: Packer Losses Deepen as Feedlot Margins Turn Negative

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 16:47:50 GMT

Beef packers continued to face negative margins last week with the situation unchanged due to current market fundamentals. Margin erosion was further compounded by unused capacity. Sterling’s packer margins averaged -$188.10/head for the week compared to -$170.50/head the prior week with Sterling’s estimate of capacity utilization at 77.5% for fed cattle plants and 60% for cow plants.

Feedlots were also dealt a blow last week as Sterling estimated feeding margin fell to -$2.50.head from $118.64/head the prior week as the week’s average for 5-Area Direct Steers fell $2/cwt to average $246.19/cwt.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending April 25.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)

Cattle Bottoming as Border/Strike Talk Fear Eases and Cash Ideas Improve

Mon, 27 Apr 2026 15:29:35 GMT

Cattle, hogs and grains are all higher early Monday.

Cattle Extend Gains a Third Day
Live and feeder cattle futures are higher on Monday for a third day.

Brad Kooima with Kooima Kooima Varilek says some of the recovery is technical in nature as the June live cattle bounce off of key support and the 38% retracement level around $243.00 last Thursday.

Border Fears Subside
Part of the bounce also came as fears subsided regarding a possible reopening of the border to Mexican feeder cattle imports.

The fear started already on April 17 when USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins was in Texas for the ground breaking of the new sterile fly facility to help combat New World screwworm (NWS).

However, Rollins was also scheduled for a trip to Arizona on Friday, April 24 which renewed fears of an announcement.

So, Kooima says when Rollins said Thursday she was canceling the trip the market breathed a sigh of relief.

“She canceled her trip due to biosecurity reasons as you’ve got a case that’s supposedly was within 60 miles of the Texas border even though this port that she was going to go to out there by Douglas is almost 800 miles away from there,” he explains.

Cash Market Firms With Board
Following the recovery in the futures the feedlots started to pass on packer bids of $246 being offered for fed cash cattle.

Kooima says there was some trade at $246 and $386 dressed but by Friday some feeders in the North were passing on $248 as feedlots regained leverage.

“I certainly have a little more optimism this week on a Monday than I did last week for cash. I think there’s a real shot we can get back to $250. We shall see. But the show list up here, very small. And we’re in that kind of that in-between time, Michelle, where the yearlings are largely gone. We’re trying to push these calves to get fat and the weather’s been great. So some of them are pretty close, but you know, this holding action type of a deal that we’ve had for a while, I think this holding action rally here is going to continue until it doesn’t,” he says.

He thinks producers will be slow to sell when it costs $1 to put gain on and so he thinks supplies will be tight for the next 30 to 45 days.

Fear of Potential Fort Morgan Plant Strike Ease
Early last Thursday, the market also sold off on fear that workers at the Cargill beef plant at Fort Morgan, Colorado, were going to walk out. Kooima says the plant did not slaughter Thursday, Friday or Monday while negotiations were taking place.

“Supposedly they were going to return to, or they were going to start negotiations this week. What I do know is that it sounds like this is not a union backed strike, that this is what they would call a wildcat strike, which people are kind of voluntary. I say, Hey, we’re leaving, you know, blah, blah, blah. I’m not certain as to what. their demands exactly are what the beef is or what they’re trying to what they’re trying to accomplish other than I suppose the obvious, more pay less work,” he adds.

The plant has a capacity of 4,700 but is currently slaughtering only around 4,000 currently. Still he says the market has faded the news like it isn’t that concerned.

“It might affect that cash market, maybe that Western Nebraska, Colorado market, maybe more than anything else. But I’ll keep you posted. At this point, it’s kind of day to day. And I think the market would tell you that they don’t expect it’s going to last long. Otherwise, I think we’d be trading worse,” he says.

Plus, shackle space is at a surplus to available cattle right now softening the blow.

However, he says if boxed beef prices don’t improve soon to help get packer margins back in the black it could lead to additional plant closures.

“But unless this box beef catches here somebody’s going to have to drop again. I mean, the packer, that side of the industry is not just going to sit there and merrily lose $200 a head every day without closing another place or severely cutting this kill back.”

Funds Stay Long Cattle?
The latest Commitment of Traders Report indicated funds are still long around 135,000 futures and option positions and have exited about 1,800 positions as of last Tuesday.

So is there a fear that the commodity fund traders are going to continue to liquidate just because the market already hit the record highs?

He says, “You bet there’s a fear, at least for some of us, for me. That would be the gorilla in the room here. The fundamentals, really good.

June cattle, probably. a little higher priced normally than what they would be basis wise I think last year we were like $8 or $10 under cash. So if you get $248 and the basis was like last year you could have June cattle at $240 or $238. It’s not it’s at $247 okay with the last cash the best of the last cash at $248. Sp, is it that the cash is too low or are the futures too high?”

Hogs Bounce or Bottom?
Lean hog futures were higher Monday and had a higher weekly close last week.

So is the market putting in a bottom and how much upside is there?

Kooima says, “Hog charts have a nice looking formation, you know, had that big outside day down where it looked like they were in a wreck on Thursday, came back gap higher last week and just barely by the skin of our teeth, we’ve been holding that gap, which is good. So I would like to get us above $103.70, above the 20-day to make me feel just a bit better about it.”

He says feeder pigs are running nearly $140 a head, which is a function of tight supply creaated by another round of big-time disease problems in some of the farrowing units in the North,” he explains that has him a bit friendly.

Grains Rally, Corn Makes Fresh Highs
Grains were higher early Monday with old crop corn making fresh highs for the move.

Corn has received some help from the weather rally in wheat but may be trading its own weather concerns with heavy rains over the weekend in some key production areas of the Midwest.

“And get used to it. This is what you and I will be talking about for the next three months, right? Whether it did or if it didn’t, or did it rain where it’s supposed to.”

However, he is not overly bullish due to the large carryout and poor basis in the Northwestern Corn Belt.

“So we’re right at halfway back on the July corn on this last move so that we’re going to learn a little bit about the market right here, I’d love to see the basis tighten and it usually is tightest when guys are out in the field worried about planting corn they’re not sitting by their grain bin loading corn,” he says.

Soybeans have been sideways for the last six weeks says Kooima, and he thinks the crude oil and bean oil story is about running its course too.

“I don’t know how far you can stretch that rubber band. So a long way to go here. We got a long growing season and we’ll see once,” he adds.

Cattle Bounce as Border/Strike Fears Fade, But is the Correction Over? Grains Eye Weather

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 15:49:26 GMT

Ag markets were mostly lower early Friday, except cattle.

Cattle Bottoming?
Cattle futures were higher early Friday with follow through buying after a higher close Thursday.

Futures are trading back above key support areas on the charts so is the correction over?

Scott Varilek with Kooima Kooima Varilek says $243 was the line in the sand for the June live cattle or funds would liquidate.

“Well, we tested it. We broke it. Broke some short-term trend lines. So it was a little bit dicey for a minute. But then we were able to recover. I think it almost got to a spot where we’re saying, okay, we have some damage. Now what? What’s the follow-through? And then it just, kind of started gaining confidence slowly, able to close higher yesterday following through today,” he describes.

He says the market was overbought and due for a correction so he’s hopeful that has been completed especially since May is a strong month for beef.

Wild Ride Thursday
Thursday was the real test for the market for feeders as they went limit down for a time on talk that the beef plant in Fort Morgan, CO was not slaughtering cattle as workers walked off the job and were going to strike.

Varilek says the plant slaughters over 4,000 head a day and that story is still not fully confirmed.

“Yeah, and we’re all trying to find as much information on that as we can. And just like the last strike, hard to find it. It seems to be a little bit quieter. But yeah, they actually walked out at Fort Morgan and they canceled some loads, canceled their Thursday, Friday kills was what I had heard. And that they were planning on getting together with some talks. They were confident that. They might not take that long, you know, so that’s where we sit. More uncertainty, you know, thrown into this market. That’s one of the reasons that we really crashed.”

He says they will watch for developments over the weekend and see if there are still loads heading to the plant or not for clues.

“So if I would say right now, we’ll trade it like it’s more short term and not break the market because it isn’t a long term thing,” he adds.

Market Recovers as Rollins Cancels Arizona Event
The cattle market recovered well off the lows and closed back higher on Thursday on news that Brooke Rollins, Secretary of Ag, canceled her trip to Arizona on Friday alleviating the fears she might make an announcement about a reopening of the border to Mexican cattle.

He says, “The reason we’re able to recover maybe was because, you know, she had said no announcement last Friday and that she planned to physically to go herself to Arizona to you know, check things out. And so then we just kicked that can down the road.”

He says there have been more screw worm cases 60 miles south of the border which may have caused USDA to reverse course or delay a reopening.

Fed Cash Market Lower
The fed cash market was also pressured by this week’s lower cash trade at $246 in the both the South and North, plus some $386 dressed trade. Those are all $2 lower than the previous week.

However, with the board rebounding any additional cattle will likely be bought at $248 as producers have regained leverage.

“Packers were a couple dollars lower they’re sitting at $246 and not really moving just letting cattle come to them. I mean a few sales but now that this board has recovered some I think they’ve got what they’re going to get at $246 and if they’re going to want some they’re going to
have to start to move it up to $248, $250. There will still be plenty of guys that that want to get that,” he explains.

He says the market is just finishing up on yearlings. “You know these long day fed yearlings that you know we’ve had we’re not usually selling yearlings here in April but that’s the nature of the beast right now as we know how to make them bigger we’ve got cheap cost of gains the feeding weather is outstanding just these huge gains on these cattle then we’re going to crawl into that calf crop and they are not going to be carrying the weight that these yearlings were. So, that’s the thing that I alluded to about May that there’s always that old saying, never be short June cattle in the month of May.”

With Mother’s Day coming up he says demand will also be strong and so packers may need to move cash up.

Cattle Resilient
Varilek also points out the cattle market has been resilient through war headlines, the down in the stock market and even higher gas prices at the pump.

“We’ve talked about all of these other stories and I don’t know that war premium or the energy prices has really crept into the beef. I mean, we wouldn’t be trading cash cattle $4 off of the all time high if we were worried about the consumers, really getting strapped.”

Lean Hogs Bottoming?
Lean hog futures were lower on Friday with some profit taking after a mostly higher week but is the market bottoming?

Varilek speculates, “Yeah, we finally saw the cash and the cutout jump a little bit, provided us with a gap higher after the third leg lower, kind of been on the lower trade. That was some good action. It’s like, okay, maybe some respect, I guess,.”

But he points out numbers will really need to tighten for the market to justify the premiums in the deferred futures.

“We do see some of these deferred markets trading stronger than the front. We’re waiting on the cash. I think you get to July and August and they feel like, yeah, we want to rally. We think that we should. $135 to $150 feeder pigs you know weighing 40 pounds I mean these are big prices that you’re having to pay if you want to fill those barns and so that keeps telling us that the supply is tight, it’s not there we need higher prices,” he adds.

He says the May contract is at a pretty good discount to June and that gap usually narrows but it hasn’t happened yet.

“So, the proof has not shown up yet to get this cash market rally, to, you know, prove me right.”

Grains Mixed to Lower Trading Weather
Wheat futures broke out to some fresh highs on Thursday on drought and frost concerns but is setting back early Friday on profit taking and some rain chances in the extended maps.

Corn and soybeans are easing with wheat but are also waiting for more direction on weather according to Varilek.

“I think we are just waiting. You know, what are these weather patterns? There’s areas that are getting lots of rain, too much rain. And then there’s others that are just it’s so dry we’re having dust bowl weather. So, you can find what you’re looking for in the weather right now and that’s typical every year,” he says.

Ultimately he thinks the crop will get planted and it is too early to get concerned.

So beyond weather the grains will need another story and right now the war and inflation news could spark buying but just not yet.

Beef Profit Tracker: Feeding Margins Rise to $118 Per Head as Packer Losses Deepen

Tue, 21 Apr 2026 14:26:06 GMT

The 5-Area Direct Steer Price last week was about unchanged from the prior week averaging $244.85/cwt. for the week. However, with the breakeven for finished cattle averaging $239.65/cwt. compared to $242.18/cwt. the prior week, feeding margins were notably improved with the Sterling average of $118.64/head for the week against $88.66/head a week earlier.

At the same time, break-evens for cattle placed on feed last week will reach $250/cwt. Sterling’s packer margin estimate for last week fell sharply to average -$170.95/head. The Composite Beef Cutout averaged $389.25/cwt. and just under the prior week’s average of $390.15/cwt.

Capacity utilization for cow plants remains a critical concern averaging around 57%.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending April 18.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)

Cattle Digest Cattle on Feed but Will The Market Retest the Highs? Can Hogs Hold?

Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:54:30 GMT

Livestock are higher Monday morning with corn and wheat trying to hold gains and soybeans lower.

Cattle Bounce After Holding Support and a Wild NWS Ride on Friday
Cattle futures are higher on Monday after a volatile session on Friday.

Joe Kooima, Kooima Kooima Varilek says the futures plunged with feeders touching limit down after around 10:00 am Central Time.

The selloff came on fears of USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins announcing the reopening of the Southern border to Mexican cattle imports while at at the ground breaking of the new sterile fly facility in Texas to curb NWS.

When Rollins didn’t announce a reopening the market quickly rebounded he says. “I still think it’s kind of an AI generated program that caught Rollins speaking at 11:00 am.”

The good news is the market found good support at $243 on June live cattle, a mark that is being eyed by fund and algorithm traders.

“So we did hold that which was nice to see so found some support. When you have a market that is that overbought for that long unfortunately your sell-offs can be kind of pent up to a certain degree,” he explains.

Rollins in Arizona This Friday
Rollins is expected to be in Arizona this Friday and so he is fearful it could produce the same type of volatile action in the cattle market.

“You know, I thought I had heard her say we’re not going to do anything unless we can get some of those cases further away from any border of the U.S. But I’m unfortunately I’m fearful the market’s going to have a little bit of a leery feel on Friday.”

He adds the numbers coming through the border may be much smaller than feared after the border has been closed for a year now.

“The traders they just like to feed off of those headline and unfortunately we just can’t put that to rest until we get some kind of a hard headline basically with it but that’s who knows what she’s going to say but the market’s going to be anticipating or maybe not even anticipating just trading that the fact that she’s there on Friday again,” he says.

Cattle on Feed Friendly
The USDA Cattle on Feed Report was friendly with the on feed number at 99.5% of a year ago, placements at 92.7% and marketings at 94.5%.

The placements number was the second lowest for March since the series began in 1996, so bullish overall.

He says, “This is basically this is going to calm the market down a little bit from Friday’s episodes and basically say hey we still have a generally historically tight supply here for a while now. So that’s the basic take-home message. The on feed there’s nothing huge in it you see the numbers continuing to grow in the North which is not a huge surprise we have the feed around here we grow.

The steer to heifer quarterly breakout showed steers at 63% of the total and heifers the balance, down 1%.

Kooima says the data backs that up but the drought map may change that.

“It’s like a slow progression like this whole cycle has been going on here the last few years anyway. So that’s just the progression of the heifer retention moving forward too and how we’re going to rebuild this herd it’s just going to be awfully slow. So, yes a little bit is happening but it’s not happening in the places where it needs to happen,” he adds.

Cash Market Steady
The cash market was mostly steady at $248 and $388 dressed.

At first glance that is disappointing but Kooima says, “However, I’m going to twist that a little bit because we, yeah, $248 happening there late Thursday, then $248 at the beginning of the market on Friday as well. And there’s a. point there here at least in the North where they actually pulled that $248.”

Then the packers came back in after lunch and renewed bids at $248 and feed lots regained their leverage even with the break in the futures.

“So some of the guys that passed the $248 in the morning were feeling a little bit oh no we missed what happened here but they were luckily able to get that towards the end of the day. So, it’s kind of one of those psychological yes $248 wasn’t the best but it came after the huge collapse in the futures which tells you the numbers are tight,” he says.

Is the High In the Cattle Market?
Still there are many in the trade saying the highs are in on the futures as confirmed by last week’s lower weekly closes.

So the market, according to Kooima, will need some bullish news in the form of higher cash to retest or take out those record highs scored last Tuesday.

The other key will be whether or not beef demand stays strong.

Is Beef Demand Holding?
Kooima says that is a tough subject but he says some of the higher priced cuts have been coming down in price while ground beef has been slowly grinding higher.

“The basic principle of demand is that if you have a product, you keep inching up that price higher and higher and higher because it’s moving. It’s moving. You’re going to retract the prices when you see the lack of movement. Two weeks ago, we had ground beef at all times high, which would tell you that things are great but last week we did have to backpedal just a little bit,” he explains.

That tells him that there is some push back especially as this is the best time of the year for demand.

“How I view it is that we’ve maybe reached a price point now where these consumers are trading down proteins,” he adds.

Hogs Bounce But Can They Hold?
Lean hog futures are higher after nine lower sessions and new lows for the move. So will the bounce hold?

Kooima says, “When I write down the product, the cutout level every day in the cash, Friday, it jumped out a little bit more that, okay, You have the cutout closing over 99 cents late Friday. And you have June. within a few dollars of it. July and August have a little bit of a premium, but where is our premium for these summer months? Historically, we always go into tighter numbers, just even on a normal year. But this year we’re dealing with all that disease issues. So I guess I’m going to look at a price point better than where we’re at right now. Where’s our premium? Let’s get those premiums back in those summer months.”

He says chart wise the market finished a three-wave theory to the downside.

“The first break was about $7 back a few months ago. Middle break was about $9, and this last one was about $7 as well. So hopefully we’re seeing a little bit of a technical action here where we can push this market up a little bit.”

He says the key is for slaughter to start slowing down and responding to the increase in disease being reported.

His theory is when disease hit six to eight months ago the large players did a great job of backfilling with Canadian isoweans.

Corn, Wheat Higher and Soybeans Lower
Grain markets continue to see wheat pulling up the corn due to weather concerns in hard red winter wheat areas ranging from drought to frost over the weekend.

However, corn may have a difficult time building on last week’s higher week as planter get rolling.

Plus, Kooima says with last week’s peace talks with Iran the funds decided to blow out of a good chunk of their long position.

“You know, they got out of quite a bit, 50, 60,000 on both sides of the beans and the corn. So, but yeah, it’s a big, long growing season
here in front of us,” he says.

However, if crude oil prices stay high it will lead to inflation which may bring some funds back into buy the grains.

“I think that’s part of their backbone of purchasing the grains the way that they have. And they just respectfully got out of some positions last week, because, yeah, when you see the crude oil have $10, $12 down days, too, you certainly want to lighten up the load a little bit. But inflation is for real. It’s maybe not as big as what people anticipate, but every month one that comes out, it’s higher than a year ago. If crude oil stays elevated the way that it is, we know how long that takes to finally trickle down into the gasoline prices anyway. So then inflation to me is pretty real,” he explains.

Has the Cattle Market Finally Topped on Fear of Border Reopening? Grains Fall as Strait Opened

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 15:54:44 GMT

Markets started Friday lower except for cattle but after 10:00 am Central Time the cattle futures tanked.

Cattle Bounce Early
Cattle futures were slightly higher early on Friday in tandem with the stock market soaring into record territory and plunging crude oil futures with word the Strait of Hormuz has been reopened.

Scott Varilek with Kooima Kooima Varilek says that provided and early bounce for cattle after two down days tied to profit taking but then the market crashed.

He says with prices at record highs the risk is high.

“We’ve got an on-feed report coming up with 100% on-feed estimate, and we are $50 higher than where we were last year on the same cattle on-feed. So we’re at some impressive levels here, Michelle.”

Is a Top In the Cattle Market?
The cattle market was overbought which triggered some profit taking and with futures tanking on Friday it will confirm a lower weekly close and reversal off of record highs.

So will that also confirm a top in the cattle market?

Varilek says, “That’s going to be the question here because it it looks like hey look at the time of year we’re in we’re at the time of year we can put a high in charts almost look like it you know we drove through make contract highs closed all the gaps and then what was the encore not much we drifted a little bit lower. So, for about the you know 75th time we’ll try to call a top in this market but it I don’t know that we want to try to do that it’s just the potential is there for it you know,” he says.

April live cattle futures did get over $250 and the contract was slammed with a bunch of deliveries as well which is bearish.

“We’ve got 20 deliveries and three retenders on the market so we are just seeing that starting to act a little bit more sloppy here,” he adds.

Line in the Sand for Funds is $243
The line in the sand on a technical basis for the funds to defend their longs is $243 on the June live cattle chart says Varilek.

“Funds don’t sell highs. They don’t buy lows. Once the chart starts to flip and their signals start to go off, whether it’s crossing moving averages, whether it’s coming off of being overbought, then they start to unwind positions. And it kind of sounds like around that $243 area on the June is
the spot that they’re looking at,” he says.

As of mid-session that low had held but for how long?

“There’s the old saying never be short June cattle in the month of May. Yes we’re in different times now you know it’s going to be wild as high as we are but that’s that’s how the market could feel so long story short $243 is a spot that I would think that we need to hold for that,” he adds.

Fear of Border Reopening
Fundamentally what has spooked the market is the fear of USDA announcing the border reopening as Secretary Brooke Rollins will be announcing the ground breaking of the New World Screwworm facility in Texas on Friday morning.

The fear is she could also announce the resumption of Mexican cattle imports.

Varilek says, “I mean, will there be an announcement? Will there not? We’re just kind of all hands on deck, kind of watching and wondering what she’s going to say. So going down for some groundbreaking of the facility. But you just would expect that she’s going to say something.
Okay. What kind of plan are we going to softly open a port and get some cattle coming across? And I think that’s what we’ve been talking about for a couple of weeks. So it’s not brand new, but I think that’s our expectations is that she will say something.”

He thinks the timing is odd as the weather is getting warmer which more easily allows the fly to migrate North versus the winter time.

However, it won’t be as big of an impact as feared due to the staggered reopening and the fact Mexico has developed its own feeding capacity.

“You know, they’ve been able to kill the cattle down there and ship the meat up here. So they may not be as eager to send near as many numbers as what they had planned before. So I feel like it’s negative to the market, but maybe not as negative as it probably used to be months ago.”

Cash Disappoints
Cash trade also developed on a light basis on Thursday at $248 live and mostly $388 up to $342 dressed, which is steady money with last week but a disappointment to the market.

“I mean, it was last week. It was these $248 bids and only one regional out there getting some $250, maybe a little disappointing. And I think everybody wanted that round $250 number so we could just feel good about it. It would have traded if it hit. Packers really dug their heels in and they’re sitting at $248. And now we have some sloppy trade this week. A lot of $248 starting to trickle around. I know several people have taken it and a couple dollars off of $250 is still a great price. These cattle are going to probably make some money up here because we’ve got extra days on feed. We’re making them bigger. Hard to say pass on that.”

Cattle on Feed Report
The market was also seeing some positioning ahead of the USDA Cattle on Feed report which is expected to be somewhat bullish.

The on feed estimate is 100%, placements at 93% and marketings at 94%.

“The South placements are going to be much lower and that’s, what’s really pulling this down. So, so that feels okay. You know that, Hey, when we’re. We’re still seeing the tight numbers, the on-feed number.”

Next month that could change as some of the feeder are being moved off grass and wheat pastures early due to drought.

Feeder Cattle Cash Index Hits Record High
This week the feeder cattle cash index hit a record high of $379.09 which is also supportive.

“That’s been strong. And feeders have been what’s bailing out this market. You know, that’s still the case.”

Lean Hogs Make New Lows
Lean hog futures are down a 9th day and making more new lows for the move but will the market find support soon on the charts?

Varilek says, “Hogs are trendy and it’s making a third leg lower. So Elliott Wave people, chart people, you might look at that and wonder, okay, so when it holds, you almost need to wait for that confirmation before you can kind of really jump into that market. Let it trend lower here. I think that cash and cutouts have been a little bit sloppy here looking for that to get better I think here rather soon.”

He bases that on the disease issues in the herd and eventually that will produce a marketing hole.

Grains Tank as Strait of Hormuz Opens
The grains are all lower on Friday taking out war premium with the Strait of Hormuz opening back up.

Varilek says, “Crude oil down $10 here today. Grains did put a little bit of premium on for that, and now we’re just taking that off. The equities are impressive how they can rally on back. So, as of now we’re feeling this war is going to stop or get better but not super confident. And wheat could not take out the April highs so it saw some profit taking and so is the rest of the grain complex.”

CAB Insider: April 15

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 12:24:23 GMT

The fed cattle market has been on an exceptionally bullish trend for the past two weeks. As if the wildly aggressive $10/cwt. price increase two weeks ago wasn’t enough, last week’s trade featured yet another $3/cwt. jump to the amazement of most market participants.

CME Live Cattle contract values led last week’s optimism, emboldening cattle feeders to hold a firmer asking price despite the major upswing the week prior. The week’s resulting $248.68/cwt. steer price was highlighted at the top end of the range with $252/cwt. quotes in the northern feeding region.

This week’s market promises to hold further strength as April Live Cattle contracts were valued at $252/cwt. Wednesday morning. Small cash trade volume had already been recorded at $248/cwt. live with additional $390/cwt. dressed on Tuesday.

The strong cattle market has run counter to wholesale boxed beef cutout values, as this week started on a lower-price trend, with Choice boxes down $10/cwt. on Urner Barry’s quote and $5/cwt. on USDA’s report.

(Certified Angus Beef)

The resumption of processing at JBS’ Greeley, Colo., plant last Tuesday held promise for those looking for a larger national fed cattle harvest for the week. Reality set in by week’s end as packers collectively pulled the federally inspected total head count lower to 512,000 head, down 4%, with a fed cattle total of 414,000 head, down 3%. Packer margins have raced backward from decently positive to roughly $200/head negative in the past few weeks.

Spring holidays are lined up in the near future, with increased seasonal volume set to keep the supply chain on edge, as fulfilling large retail volumes requires larger headcounts. Beef demand appears to remain healthy, and a mid-April downturn in cutout values is not uncommon. Last year’s Choice cutout ran up 18% from April 15 through the end of June. Cutout values are 12% to 15% higher than a year ago.

The Marbling Milestone: A Deep Dive into Carcass Grading

The nation’s carcass marbling achievement has never been richer, as USDA data reports the latest record-high USDA Prime share at 15.55% of fed cattle. Year to date, the Prime grade has recorded weekly values of 14% or higher. With USDA Choice giving incremental ground to the growing Prime category, the two grades combine to chart a record 88.1% for the first quarter. In contrast, USDA Select carcasses comprised a new record-low 8% of fed carcasses during March.

Historic highs in marbling outcomes logically suggest that the Certified Angus Beef brand would similarly capture record volumes of Angus-type carcasses, given the brand’s focus on quality and its Modest 00 (Premium Choice) or higher marbling requirement. The importance of marbling among the brand’s 10 carcass specifications can’t be overstated. Several million Angus-type carcasses (often more than 2 million annually) have been evaluated using detailed data since 2012, revealing that 82% to 95% of carcasses failing to meet brand requirements did so due to insufficient marbling. Consequently, the greatest opportunity for improvement or failure in CAB certification rates lies within the marbling specification.

However, in the midst of record-high nationwide marbling outcomes, the brand’s certification rate in March fell to 37% of eligible carcasses — less than impressive in contrast to 41.8% in March 2025. As confusing as this seems, current feedlot economics tell the rest of the story. Cheap corn, increased days on feed and temperate feeding weather combined to push average carcass weights to new heights in March. Twenty-pound leaps in year-over-year weight increases have been a hallmark of the past two years. But the trend since December has held weights to a higher plane than ever. This means that average steer carcasses in the 980-plus lb. range yield a record proportion surpassing the brand’s 1,100-lb. upper limit. Our 2025 annual data review indicated that, of the eligible carcasses failing to meet brand standards, 14.5% of the cause was due to carcasses exceeding 1,100 lb., a significant increase from 8.6% in 2024. It’s a safe bet that this carcass weight fallout rate was higher than 14.5% in the first quarter this year, given that steer weights have not dropped below 981 lb., year to date.

(Certified Angus Beef)

Longer feedlot stays have also generated a steady increase in external carcass fat in recent years. This was highlighted by the 2025 uptick to 9.8% of certification failures in the dataset exceeding the maximum allowable 1-inch backfat thickness. Fallout from excess backfat was basically unchanged, in the 7-8% range, from 2022 to 2024, but will likely be reported higher again in 2026 if first-quarter finished weights are any indication.

In March 2025, the brand adjusted the upper limit for ribeye area from 16 to 17 sq. inches. The move aligned with the evolving cattle supply and resulted in cutting the brand’s fallout rate due to oversized ribeyes in half in the 2025 analysis.

Feedlot economics continue to reward heavier weights, urging cattle feeders to add days as they try to offset the high cost of feeder cattle with a favorable cost of gain. This has yielded unprecedented Prime carcass percentages in grid payment summaries, while simultaneously pressuring CAB carcass acceptance in the last two months. Despite these recent challenges, marbling remains the driver in the brand’s ability to add value to a greater proportion of Angus-type cattle.

Post-Strike Rebound: Feedlot Leverage Returns as Packer Margins Dip

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:16:41 GMT

Beef industry margins last week were back to where they were prior to the JBS strike at Greeley – positive for feedlots and negative for packers.

Sterling’s estimate for feedlot margins last week was $88.66/head while the estimated packer margin averaged -109.60/head for the week. These margins compare to $3.26/head for feedlots and $65.03/head for packers the previous week.

5-Area Direct Steer prices averaged $248.51/cwt. last week while the Composite Beef Cutout averaged $390.15 for the week. Packers processed cattle priced 2 weeks ago — $244.85/cwt.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending April 11.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)

Can Record Fed Cattle Futures and Cash Trade Continue?

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 16:09:39 GMT

Cattle and hogs were lower early Monday then recovered. Grains were mixed with soybean lower and corn and wheat higher.

Live Cattle Make New Contract Highs
Live cattle futures made new and all-time contract highs on Friday with the April contract closing above $250.

Brad Kooima with Kooima Kooima Varilek says the cattle market started off lower on Monday with bearish outside markets, like skyrocketing crude oil, but quickly turned mixed.

So, he isn’t concerned about the initial consolidation.

“I mean, you’ve got an overbought market. You know, actually, the stock market has firmed up a long ways here, but you got crude oil up $7.50. And some of those things, you know, cause, I think, give the market some reason to pause here a little bit.”

Cash Higher on Friday on Light Volume
The other reason he thinks futures are sound is tied to the cash trade.

While he calls it disappointing, cash was steady to higher on Friday on light volume.

The volume in the North was at $248 but with a few trades at $250, which is an all-time high. Dressed prices ranged from $385 to $389, steady to $4 higher. The South ranged from $246 to $249, mostly $248 to $249.

The previous cash record for the 5-area weighted steer was $246.91, scored the week of February 23, 2026 and last week’s cash trade was $244.96, so that could be exceeded.

“Some of us got $250 in the north to a regional packer. It wasn’t widespread at all. None of the majors ever bid it. The rest of the outfit seemed like it was more like $248 or pass. And so everybody, most everybody passed. And then there was a little bit of trade in Kansas Friday at $249. And then there was kind of unusual, but there was some trade in Texas on Saturday at $248. So, you know, coming in with April cattle above $251, Yeah. You know, maybe we’re a little over our skis here with futures if the cash is only going to be $248 only. Right?”

Negotiation volume the previous week was nearly 81,000 head so the packers may not have needed cattle right away.

Cash Cattle This Week?
However, it won’t take long for packers to need inventory, so he is optimistic about a higher cash tone this week.

“I think this week will be interesting because we maybe maybe you’ve got the line of scrimmage here pretty, pretty tight now. So you’ll have a packer or at least several of them that are going to be quite close to the knife and are going to need to buy some cattle. You got a producer that maybe carried a few cattle over and still some of the producers still fighting with this deal of well the cattle actually don’t really even make any money at $250 believe it or not.”

He says some of the yearlings had extremely high break evens so there is some resistance on the part of the seller. So, he says it will be interesting to see who wins the battle this week.

“I guess I’m going to go with what’s been working. And what’s been happening is that the feedlot has still maintained leverage. So I think there’s a shot we’ll be a little bit higher. Let’s go $252. I don’t know. Maybe that’s a little bit optimistic, but I’ll take my shot that we’re going to be a little bit better. But it won’t happen until late in the week. And I think it’ll be better because the packer is going to have to chase it because it’s that time of year where you expect to do beef business. And they got to be a reliable, you know, they got to be a reliable producer for that,
too, as well, or a resource for that.”

Futures Keep Climbing?
So with higher cash Kooima thinks the live cattle futures could keep climbing.

“I still think we’re in a window of time here of 30 to 45 days where cleaning up the old crop yearlings. You know there’s a few big cattle but we don’t have the weight problem that we had three four weeks ago and as you’re going into the front of these front end of these calves that aren’t hardly fat. I just don’t think that the feedlot’s going to be in have any urgency at all to sell as these cattle are barely at replacement cost,” he explains.

JBS Strike Settled
The union at the JBS beef plant in Greeley, Co. also settled over the weekend.

Kooima says that is slightly friendly for the market even though the employees were back to work last week.

“I think that the reality of it is I don’t think anyone is very surprised. I think we had this conversation at the very beginning of this thing, Michelle, that realistically, is this going to really go anywhere? I mean, every other plant signed off on the same deal. JBS isn’t going to make a special deal for one facility. And so I don’t think anyone’s terribly surprised in the fact that they had gone back to work basically anyway last week. It’s not bearish because it does mean that that Greeley plant is going to have to get after it and do some procurement of cattle that they wouldn’t have been doing two weeks ago. But again, I think anticipated.”

Feeders Not Making Contract Highs
While feeders have made new highs for the move they have not made new contract highs like the live cattle.

Is that the fear of the border reopening to Mexican cattle soon?

“I believe in some of these old sayings like feeders are the leaders. Certainly the feeder cattle have led us through a great big part of this bull market cycle that we’ve been in lately. One could argue that feeder cattle, you know, there’s something called cattle crush. You take the price of the feeders against when they’re going to be fat, balance in the equation what the corn price is. Anyway, the crush has and has been consistently for over a year shown that either the feeder cattle are too high or the fats are too low. So maybe some adjustment in that crush
spread where the feeders had gotten themselves out. But I also think certainly the border being potentially reopened at some point, is part of it,” he adds.

Hogs Disappoint
Lean hog futures made new lows for the move early Monday.

The deferred lean hogs posted lower weekly closes last week and April was only up slightly as the market has continued to underperform according to Kooima.

“To me, the overall fundamental news of the hogs is more positive than reacting. Underperforming is a polite way of saying that I don’t understand it. For me, that’s how I feel. I continue to hear. PRRS talk, breakouts, train wrecks at a number of farrowing facilities that a lot of guys in my area source pigs from. You know, it looks to me like the supply of hogs for the summertime is still going to be a little tighter than expected because of those disease problems. You know, it could be that we continue to fret about global demand. Whether or not we’re doing anything to get along any better with China sure doesn’t appear like it.”

The charts are also beat up he says, “This is new lows for June hogs. The nature of hogs would be that they’ll fool me again, maybe, and now they’ll catch. But to me, fundamentally, we should be able to. to trade $110 to !112 in the summer. We’ll see.”

Grains Correct
Corn and wheat are higher on Monday with soybeans lower in correction mode with the Iran conflict back on the front burner and crude oil up nearly $8.

Corn may be chasing higher wheat and crude oil and trading geopolitics again.

However, corn has corrected over 30 cents off the March 9 highs so it may just be a short lived correction says Kooima, especially with ending stocks still over 2 billion bu.

Meanwhile, soybeans are lower with concerns that China is supplying military weapons to Iran and that could be a sticking point for the mid-May meeting between the two leaders.

“If this goes back into a sustained conflict that might even include you know reparations with China,” he says.

Plus, Kooima thinks soybean oil is trying to divorce itself from the whole energy trade and put in a high last week.

Cattle Test Contract Highs on Strong Cash, Fade Border Talk: How High Will Prices Go?

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 15:21:18 GMT

Cattle and soybeans are higher early Friday with corn, wheat and hogs lower.

Cattle Test Contract Highs
Cattle futures were strong out of the gate Friday with many of the live cattle futures once again making contract highs and other contracts are testing those chart areas.

Scott Varilek with Kooima Kooima Varilek says the cattle market has been impressive and resilient.

“Cattle have been very strong. They’ve been overbought for a significant amount of time. And yeah, bumping on some of these contract highs. Some months are breaking through. And when some of the front months were making contract highs, the deferreds were kind of left in the dust, and now here in the last few days, more confidence in the back just continues to push higher. The resilience of this market is just very impressive.”

He says the market has shook off plenty of negative news including the Iran war, possible Mexican border reopening, closure of the Lexington, Neb. plant and the JBS plant strike at Greeley, CO.

When Will the Cattle High Hit?
Varilek says the market is getting hard to protect as many producers and market participants are waiting to see if the market is topping.

“I think there’s a lot of open inventory out there, guys that don’t have cattle hedged. And we’re just waiting. So whenever there is that official rollover, don’t know when it is. Everybody would love to know. And everybody says, call me if you think that is going to happen. That list is a thousand people long. So I don’t know that I’m going to get everybody called when that hits,” he says.

Higher Fed Cash Push
The futures have been pushed by the cash market which was up $9.26 last week on the 5-area weighted average.

“The way that it rallied was very impressive. It wasn’t just a few regionals out in front. We’ve got a couple of majors out there leading this cash market and for a couple of weeks in a row here now, coming in and grabbing entire show lists and the right kind of strength behind cash markets. So that helps a lot,” And he explains it provides the avenue to clean up the show lists and pull down the weights.

Producers have regained leverage but will it continue to push cash higher this week?

“Going into this week I think the thoughts were we’re gonna ask $252 but if the bids start coming out at $250 give me a call and there might be a little bit of interest there so I think anything $250 or higher, we’re feeling good. And it’s going to have to take that. I don’t feel like we’re going to move cattle less than that, especially with the strength that we’ve seen on the board here.”

Feeders Regain Leadership?
The feeder cattle cash index is back going higher and so will cash strength help pull the futures into new highs?

Varilek says, “These feeders have been the leaders for the last couple of years during this rally. And I think recently there was a small window here where a few of the cattle buyers were telling me, hey, I think there’s some soft. trade happening here and it’s easing up just a little
bit maybe not as strong that’s about all you had to say it must have encouraged the rest of the buyers to show up and we’re you know back off to the races got another you know projecting the index up another $2.40 here today and giving us that confidence.”

Plus, as planting ramps up there will be fewer cattle and buyers at the sale barns.

Mexican Border Reopening Soon?
The other headwind is continued talk the Mexican border might slowly start to open to cattle imports in a few weeks.

However, so far it hasn’t spooked the cattle market.

“Well, I think there was probably a few guys sitting on their hands waiting for more details there and now here we sit with kind of the same information, not a lot. So they might have to reenter and jump back in and get some inventory. I like what I’m seeing. To get to contract highs,
it’s not out of reach here,” he adds.

When the border does reopen it will be staggered and start in the far west ports but Varilek anticipates an announcement soon.

“You know, maybe it’s a staggered open here in a couple of weeks. And it’s like, OK, I just haven’t heard anything new yet on that story. I think that it is and I think that they probably will. I think we have a lot of measures in place to help prevent this. It is screwworm. It’s not hoof and mouth disease. It’s a little bit of a different cookie here, something that we should be able to try to manage. I don’t think it’s as big of a disaster as what some of the news is,” he states.

Plus, he says Mexico has learned how to deal with those cattle and are running those plants 24-7.

“They don’t have the regulations that we do here. They can ship us a lot of beef, just import us the beef, and they’ve got a self -sustaining industry down there. We can ship them corn. We’ve got a lot of cheap corn here. So that’s what I see.”

Hogs Correcting
Lean hogs saw a pop at the beginning of the week on news of FMD in China but have corrected since than and the action has been disappointing according to Varilek.

“One of our lead hog analysts here said, yeah, hogs suck. You know that that’s how what our attitude really is. We feel like we’ve got news that could rally these these hogs we we’ve got new PRRS outbreaks happening. I mean the disease is still there and so when we’re in the heart of
production we hear those stories,” he says.

Still hogs have not been able to turn around but he thinks its just a matter of time.

“I think that these hogs in these summer months can really take off here yet. So still holding out hope.”

Corn Removes War Premium
Corn futures are lower again on Friday on follow through selling and are working on a lower weekly close.

The market is taking out war and inflation premium according to Varilek.

“The energy rally that caught a lot of attention across agriculture markets and grains really benefited from it. You know, got to some levels, gave us some opportunities. Hey, to say, hey, I actually can look at some prices that might work here. That was fun. Now that we’re in the mood of, OK, we’re having ceasefire talks, we’re going to meet with Iran in Pakistan, Israel just kind of maybe coming to the table as of this morning.
We’ll see. But I think that’s starting to pull some of that premium out.”

Plus, he says the 2.127 billion bu. ending stocks in the WASDE was a reminder of the large corn inventory in the U.S. with basis weaker than normal.

Soybeans Rally with Meal and China Hopes
Soybeans were higher again on Friday morning and have been strong all week getting some help from higher soybean meal as spreads are unwound with bean oil.

The other supportive feature is China and hopes for large purchases announcements in mid-May at the trade meeting between President’s Trump and Xi.

Beef Profit Tracker: Feedlots and Packers Both in Black

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:49:56 GMT

Feedlot margins were back in the black last week averaging $3.36/head with a significant jump in the 5 Area Direct Steer price.

Steer prices averaged $244.85/cwt. for the week against $235.35/cwt. the previous week. At the same time, beef packer margins remained in positive territory with Sterling estimate for the weekly average at $67.03/head for the week.

While the Composite Beef Cutout was weaker last averaging $394.86/cwt. compared to $397.49/cwt. a week earlier, packers slaughtered cattle that were priced at the previous week’s lower cost.

Also, JBS’s Greeley, Colo., plant remained on strike last week. Fed cattle slaughter was up 8,000 head over the previous week and capacity utilization averaged 82%. That plant went back online this week with no agreement regarding the conditions of the strike.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending April 4.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)

Live Cattle Follow Skyrocketing Cash, JBS Plant Strike Ending: Hogs Rally on FMD in China

Mon, 06 Apr 2026 19:52:16 GMT

Live cattle were higher feeders two sided with hogs sharply higher early Monday. Corn and soybeans were trying to hold gains as wheat fell.

Live Cattle Hit Contract Highs
Live cattle were higher early Monday with deferred contracts making new contract highs.

Brad Kooima with Kooima Kooima Varilek says the futures are chasing sharply higher cash trade from last week.

Cash Skyrockets
Cash trade was higher on Thursday at $245 to $246 in the South, up $8 to $9 and the North traded $245 live and mostly $385 dressed, up $13.

“Absolutely this cash market even with the Greeley plant being closed and even with all the uncertainty going on with the geopolitics and all the other stuff cash was basically $245 in fact there was some $246 bid around here on Saturday, the day before Easter. So that’s pretty impressive.”

He says show lists are very tight in the North, weights are falling and the backlog of big cattle has been worked through.

“Now all of a sudden you’re in between crops of cattle mostly the yearlings are gone and the calves aren’t fat yet even though the weather has been ideal.”

Cash Higher Again This Week?
So will cash trade be higher again this week with feedlots regaining leverage?

Kooima says, “I think yes. I think most everybody’s kind of got $250 in mind this week, and I think we’ll get it. And it’ll probably be led by the North. So it’s kind of weird to me how the packer really lost his leverage last week.”

He adds that the market has already exceeded his expectations and could shoot all the way up to $260 before it runs out of gas.

Greeley Plant Strike Over?
Over the weekend the strike at the JBS plant in Greeley, Colorado ended and so the plant will be killing cattle on Tuesday according to Kooima.

“I think they might get 3,500 cattle dead tomorrow as the union has agreed to go back to work and while they continue to negotiate. So not unexpected. We kind of heard this was coming last week. But of course, that’s going to force that outfit to have to buy a few cattle, we think anyway. And then that should help press the thing toward $250.”

The union went back to work despite their demands being met but Kooima is fairly sure the strike is over for good.

“The back story of this had been that, well, this is a deal, an agreement that all their other plants had already signed on to. And so, you know, a lot of us on the sidelines were thinking like, well, what do you expect JBS to do to make a different deal for Greeley? You know, maybe there’s some small concessions with some benefits or something, but to say that they were going to reopen that whole thing. And then of course, you know, the union leader has of this particular union has a reputation of, enjoying strikes. And so, you know, you wondered about it. I would say that you can’t completely say, okay, no worries at all. But for me, I’d be, I’d be 80% sure that they’re probably back to work to stay,” he explains.

How Long For Greeley to Return to Normal?
So how long will it take to get Greeley back to full capacity?

Kooima says, “I’m guessing, but the boots on the ground there, they think maybe, you know, capacity is 5,400. But I don’t know if there’s a plant
in the universe that’s killing it capacity with this tight supply. The talk was that they maybe could get back to where they were, which is around 4,800 to 5,000, maybe as soon as two weeks. So we’ll see. Probably depends on the margins and the profitability, too. That’ll probably incentivize them, give them a lack of incentive to get real aggressive if the packers kind of lost his margin here on this last last last move here.”

Feeder Cattle Sloppy Fearing Border Reopening
The feeder cattle market has not made new highs like the live cattle and it fact Kooima says was trading two sided and sloppy on Monday.

It is likely the fear of the border reopening to Mexican cattle and USDA Secretary Rollins has changed her stance when that event will take place and retreated on how much of threat New World Screwworm (NWS) is to the U.S. cattle herd.

So, Kooima says its more likely within the next few weeks.

“Personally I am really tired of this deal. I think they’ve made so much out of it. This is something that’s treatable. This isn’t mad cow disease. This is a worm. Ever heard of IVAMEC? So her narrative changed in that they think maybe now it’s time to do a gradual reopening. They’d
start way on that west one there, Sonora, the one in New Mexico. They’re 800 miles literally from the nearest incident of screwworm fly.”

However, he says the Mexican cattle industry has built feed yards and packing capacity and is making money so the number of cattle coming across the border may be less than expected.

“They’ve tripled their kill capacity because they’re killing cattle 24-7 instead of eight hours a day for five days. So we may never go back to where
we were. In fact, I doubt very much that we ever will, you know, back to that 1.3 million head a year. But for my money, I don’t know. I think I’d just soon know where they are instead of having to absorb all their meat into our consumption and wondering exactly what it is. But that’s just me,” he says.

Plus he says the market has rallied $23 in three weeks and filled the chart gaps, so it is overbought.

Hogs Rally on FMD in China
Lean hog futures were also higher on Monday with news that China has cases of Foot and Mouth Disease in two provinces.

Kooima says, “Those kind of headlines really will spark it. Obviously, China has been noticeably absent from our export business here because it feels like they’ve got their whole industry back, you know, through their disease cycle and after low productivity, high productivity. Now, I don’t know if FMD is necessarily quite the like PRRS risk or, you know, all this other stuff. But yeah. For now, it’s given us a pretty good headline bounce.”

He adds that disease problems in the U.S. herd are also causing the feeder pig market to rally.

“Everybody’s talking about the disease problems here in the United States as well. PRRS, some new strain. It seems like it never fails. You can only go a year or two before something else happens. So I know these guys that are buying feeder pigs are really chasing the market.”

Corn, Soybeans Struggle to Hold
Corn and soybean futures are struggling to hold slight gains with the wheat market lower and uncertainty tied to war headlines and the energy market looking for direction.

“If you’re bullish you better hang your hat right on that post because that’s I don’t see a lot of other stuff to hold the market except what the weather is going to be this summer and nobody knows what will happen with that,” he states.

Seasonals are a little stronger during the planting season but he says the cash basis levels on corn in the North are weak even around ethanol plants.

“Basis is really weak 40 to 50 under tells me there’s all kinds of old crop corn left. So, let’s give it a chance here the next two weeks let’s hope we bounce a little bit,” he adds.

CAB Insider: April 1

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:22:31 GMT

The fed cattle market has traded in a steady range around $235/cwt. live and $372/cwt. dressed in the past two weeks, roughly $10/cwt. lower than the late February high on a live basis.

The post-report adjustment to the harvested head count two weeks ago pulled that week’s total to a paltry 503,000 head. Last week’s recovery to 520,000 returned the harvested throughput to the lower end of the range seen in the previous four weeks, with an average of 524,000 head per week for the period.

The JBS Greeley, Colo., plant remains closed for the third week now due to labor stoppages at that facility. This, combined with the general tightening of packer throughput, continues to impede harvest volume.

Meanwhile, feedyard cattle inventory currentness appears to be slipping further as combined steer and heifer carcass weights marked a new record high in the latest USDA report for the week of March 8. Steer weights matched their previous high, recorded in December at 989 lb. each, while heifers surpassed their December heaviest weight by 3 lb. to reach 903 lb. apiece.

(Certified Angus Beef)

Weighted average carcass weights for steers and heifers calculate to 955 lb., 43 lb. heavier than the same week last year. The added weight-per-head on 420,000 head of weekly fed cattle harvested is equivalent to an additional 18,900 head. More astonishingly, the latest weights are 67 lb. heavier than those from two years ago, equivalent to an additional 29,500 head at the recent harvest pace.

Carcass cutout values adjusted slightly lower over the past two weeks following an exceptional first-quarter run-up, during which the USDA Comprehensive cutout value increased 12.7% since Jan. 1. The Comprehensive cutout, describing all grades for all delivery periods, reached $400/cwt. in mid-March, a tremendous 21% increase over the same week a year ago. A small correction is certainly understandable at the beginning of April, immediately before Good Friday and Easter holidays. However, packers do have some pricing power to leverage with their wholesale customers at these reduced harvest head counts.

Spring Cutout Confusion

Seasonal shifts historically bring the year’s highest-quality, marbling-rich carcasses to packing plants in March. This phenomenon is often attributed to the finished cattle supply in this period being denser with yearlings than with calf-fed cattle, compared to other seasons.

Specific to March 2026, the share of USDA Select carcasses in packers’ coolers was disproportionally small. The beef sector’s rapid advance toward a 15% USDA Prime grade average in March came at the expense of Select, which dipped to a record-low 7.9% of the offering. This stands in stark contrast to the 12% Select gradeout in March 2025. Meanwhile, the Choice category remained unchanged this March at 73% of the mix, just as it was a year ago.

Last week, the USDA reported the Choice cutout dipping to a $5/cwt. discount to Select. Inversions of the Choice-Select spread, while extremely uncommon, tend to occur in the first quarter, when carcass quality grades are near their annual peak and spot market demand for the grilling season has yet to hit full stride.

(Certified Angus Beef)

There are end-users in the market, such as the institutional sector, that maintain a standing order specifically for the USDA Select product. This price-driven customer capitalized on an average $15/cwt. discount to Choice in the past two years. The recent shift to much tighter Select carcass supplies has narrowed the price gap, even momentarily inverting the Choice-Select spread due to the scarcity of Select carcasses.

Current quality grade trends are subject to seasonal change, but the long-term outlook suggests that the combination of genetics and management will continue to yield higher-quality carcass outcomes. Beef wholesalers are advising their traditionally Select-focused customers to move up to low Choice, given the evolution of the grade mix to a higher plane.

Product labeled simply as USDA Choice has increasingly been defined by carcasses that fall within the lower 1/3 of the Choice grade. This is due to overwhelming demand for Premium Choice-branded products, such as the Certified Angus Beef brand. Consequently, what’s left in the USDA Choice box looks much nearer to the marbling found in USDA Select than ever before.

Beef Profit Tracker: Packer Profit Margin Improves to $90/head

Wed, 01 Apr 2026 15:37:01 GMT

Reduced slaughter numbers coupled with continued strong consumer demand supporting a strong beef market last week resulted in Sterling’s estimated packer margin averaging $90.36/head with 80.1% capacity utilization.

Feedlots on the other hand, saw per head losses increase to an estimated - $106.58/head as calculated by Sterling Marketing. The 5-Area Choice Steer Price averaged $235.35/cwt. for the week and unchanged from the prior week. The strike at JBS’s Greeley, Colo., plant continues.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending March 28.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)

Cattle Rally on NWS, Cash, Technicals: Will Cash be Higher This Week?

Mon, 30 Mar 2026 15:28:49 GMT

Cattle and hogs were mostly higher early Monday, with soybeans higher, corn lower and wheat mixed.

Cattle Futures Extend Grains
Live and feeder cattle futures were extending gains on Monday after higher weekly closes. For the week April live cattle were up nearly $4.50, June was up $5.25 with May feeders up $13.45 and August up $11.67.

Brad Kooima with Kooima Kooima Varilek says the rally late last week was impressive considering the equity markets were sharply lower on Thursday and Friday plus crude oil was higher.

What Drove the Rally?
He says the rally was driven by a combination of factors including a strong chart pattern which prompted some technical buying.

“I did not see Friday coming. I was surprised. A lot of that, you know, what you quoted for the week, an awful lot of that, especially on the live cattle, happened on Friday. Of course. feeder cattle futures were up a lot too which was part of the market. However, when you whip the horse it better run and we could have easily been lower Friday with the stock market sharply lower and with the lack of cash trade.”

He says the past futures rallies had been led by cash but this one was not.

“Instead this time it seemed like the you broke out of basically both flag type formations on the fats and the feeders and then you prompted either short covering, because open interest was no runaway, but I would suppose at least some fund buying in the deferreds. The funds don’t trade something that’s ready to go under delivery like the April, so the April was kind of under performing. So I think technical buying,” he adds.

Cash Cattle Steady to Higher
Cash cattle traded steady to higher on Friday as a result, which was also impressive according to Kooima.

The cash was slow to break but in the North the trade was mostly $235 live, which was steady. Then after the futures closed the South broke at $238, up $3 from the previous week.

“I thought it was going to maybe take a little longer. I thought it might take into the middle of April. And then I really agree that, you know, the supply of cattle here going into that second quarter slot is tight. And nobody’s going to be in a big hurry to sell a calf that’s barely fat in April or May. Maybe we just cleaned this thing up a couple of weeks earlier than I thought, which is awesome,” he explains.

Higher Cash Cattle Trade Again?
Show lists are fairly tight in the North and the bigger cattle have been cleaned up so will the cash be higher again this week?

He says it is possible as packers are starting to buy for the best demand time of the year for beef. “Yes, I think cash will be higher this week, whether it’ll be galloping higher like we sometimes get, I don’t know. I guess I do think we are going to maybe put some $240s hopefully up on the board next week or this week rather for cash. And then we’ll see once if we can maybe work more to those mid $240s here in the next couple of weeks after that. So I do like the way the cash market feels barring something else.”

However, he says Greeley is getting closer to a settlement which could have an impact. “I guess I’m trying to say it feels like the
toehold that the union has is starting to weaken, you know, in another week. Looks like maybe we’ll see or hear something in terms of a settlement there. So, you know, that bad news should be in the market. The Cargill talk about, you know, whether Fort Morgan was going to join that strike, that seems to have died down.”

NWS Case Pushes Feeders
Kooima says also pushing the feeder market on Friday was another case of NWS that was only 77 miles from the U.S. border.

USDA Secretary Rollins has said the border would stay closed until those cases started rolling back and further away from the U.S.

“Whether it’s a combination of these headline trading algorithms that react to those kinds of things or just to the reality of, holy cow, we thought we were winning. We thought we were pushing it back. This is what Secretary Rollins said has been necessary if we’re going to ever open it, that we need to see this thing in retreat. Now, we’re not too far from having that next factory of sterile flies operational, I understand. But yeah, I would guess too that that probably was, I mean, why else do you all of a sudden go up $7?”

Kooima adds that the cash feeder market has also been strong at the sale barns.

Hogs Trade Bullish Report
The lean hog futures are showing early strength on Monday after June and the deferred contracts closed higher for the week on the heel of the bullish USDA Hogs and Pigs Report.

Plus, Kooima says disease problems are ramping up and technically the market held support.

“Looking backwards the last two or three weeks, I liked where we held. We’d had a big correction. We’re still a long ways off the highs, even though we’ve had a couple of nice up days. Held at the 100-day. A little reinforcement on a hog report as the USDA continues to kind of amend, catch up to the shorter numbers with some revisions again. And just this morning, I’m talking to someone that I have a high amount of respect for in the hog thing, talking again about another part of the country here that just broke with a real hot strain of PRRS with an 85% mortality or something like that.”

That is fueling buying in the summer months, plus he says domestic demand has been strong due to the price point of pork and Easter ham buying.

Soybeans Follow Oil, Corn Eases
Soybeans and corn were lower on Friday fading the record levels reported in the RVOs but soybeans are back up on Monday with bean oil.

Kooima says bean oil is getting a push from $100 crude oil and sharply higher diesel fuel markets.

However, he likes the look of the charts and the seasonals are favorable.

“This is typically. where you get some movement between now and when we plant. But I also, you know, a little heads up, you know, this is where you start to kind of pick some targets here a little bit above us and start to do a little bit of pricing here.”

The other key is the market needs to get through the big USDA reports.

“And that’s there’s plenty of info on this report. On the one side, we’re going to get reminded about just how much corn we’ve got left over, especially compared to a year ago. My goodness. But on the other side. We’re going to, you know, let’s get dialed in just how much less corn are you going to plant. It’s not whether it’s going to be less than last year, how much less. With that average trade estimate, you know, in that 94 to 94.4 range or something like that. If I had to guess it, I would guess it would be even a little bit less than that. But we shall see,” he remarks.

Cattle Higher Fading Lower Equities, Hogs Rally on Report: Corn, Beans Ease

Fri, 27 Mar 2026 15:56:10 GMT

Cattle and hogs are higher early Friday, with grains mixed.

Cattle Extend Rally Despite Lower Equities
Live and especially feeder cattle futures are seeing follow through buying and a strong rally despite lower equity markets and higher energy prices, which are usually negative for the market.

Joe Kooima with Kooima Kooima Varilek says the ability of the cattle market to divorce itself from the outside markets the last two sessions has been very impressive.

“We had a really good finish yesterday and that’s kind of setting the stage for today. We’re having a fantastic start. Feeders are up $4.50, fats up $2 or more. You’re still having an outside market that’s a little bit clunky, a little bit squirrely here, especially on a Friday going into a weekend. We don’t know what’s going to happen with any war escalation or anything like that. So I’m highly impressed with the cattle action so far. And I’m glad that we can finally have a little bit of a divorce between the two and maybe look at
some fundamentals that could be coming around the corner there.”

Steady Cash Supportive
Thursday the fed cash market started to develop at steady money so that is likely supporting the futures he says.

“Yeah, I would call yesterday a big victory. We look at the last couple of weeks, our kills were light. Like yesterday was just 96,000. Last week’s kill was like 508,000 or something like that. It’s great to see because we’re worried about you know how big these cattle are, we’re worried about the last couple weeks we’ve carried some cattle into the next week because we didn’t sell as much. Yet you’re seeing a market that is holding,” he says.

Cash bids on Friday were also holding steady with Thursday’s cash trade at mostly $235 in the North with dressed prices at $370 to $372 and a few in Texas at $234.

Kooima says, “The packers got a little bit of an appetite here and the producers can kind of smell it. So futures are responding pretty well. So this leverage hopefully is shifting back into the producers hands right now.”

Futures Absorb Lower Boxed Beef
The futures are also holding despite the drop in boxed beef values the last few days and he thinks the market will continue to shake it off.

“I think we can. The relationship between the boxes and cash in the last several years has always been tough to tie the two together. You’re having cattle that are on feed a little bit longer. Our grading is the highest it’s ever been. So part of the equation there too is like, hey, we’re probably swimming in a lot of prime and a lot of choice product out there that’s having maybe a tough time having a lot of movement at the prices there. But I look at the calendar. We’re a few weeks out from having a big spring demand push. Maybe these packers just had to back it up. The price level is just to get a little bit better start on the price and not have such a high price going into a big spring demand event because basically these boxes are the highest they ever have ever been if we take out that COVID year.”

Technical Breakout in Cattle
Cattle futures also had a technical breakout this week according to Kooima.

“We kind of broke out to the top side at the beginning of the week, and the feeders took out their down, just a smaller downtrend line. The cash market continues to be hot there as well, and the fat cattle followed there as well, took out a small term downtrend line you have a little bit of a wedge of formation happening in so you’re getting some technical buying upon that and if you measure you know that that nice technical outbreak that we had at the beginning of the week it’s almost looking like we can go back, fill that gap that we left a couple months ago so you’re looking at that $240, $239 marker for like June,” he explains.

Greeley Still on Strike
Kooima says workers at the JBS beef plant in Greeley, CO are still on strike but non-union workers have been slaughtering about 400 to 500 head daily.

“They’ll actually be selling some boxes out of there next week so not enough to really you know matter a whole lot but hey if they’re dropping some blood over there maybe some maybe we’re closer to seeing some kind of a negotiation moving forward too,”

Hogs and Pigs Report Friendly
Hogs are mostly higher on Friday with a push from a friendly USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report compared to expectations with the All hogs and pigs number at 100.4%, kept for breeding at 98.5% and kept for marketing at 100.6%.

“We came back a percent less and majority of the numbers there. And you’re having that into a break of $8 on the board here too. So it’s kind of a good timing aspect for it as well. Does that hog and pig report show exactly what’s going on out there in the real world? It doesn’t reflect necessarily what I hear, but at least we had something to kind of hopefully switch this this quick downtrend that we have and that was a just nice timing overall.”

The 98.5% kept for breeding number was a well under expectations he says. “We’re going to be in a new landscape moving forward and you know what these operations are going to be looking at moving forward. You hear here a few sow barns here and there they’re
just old and the producers are just going to be moving on to something different there. So I think we’re a little bit into that phase,” he says.

USDA also did some revisions to past reports based on slaughter numbers and weights.
but it was actually down from the last quarter, wasn’t it? I believe so. I think there’s a few

When Will Disease Start Showing Up?
When will the reports start showing the marketing hole from disease problems?

Kooima says the disease issues are as bad or worse than in past years. “The prevalence on some of these, the PRRS and the PED. It’s been the highest, you know, some since 2018 for some PRRS issues. And the fourth quarter of last year for like PED was the highest it’s been since like 2023. So we’re talking about a very high benchmark.”

So he thought the disease problems would have already shown up in the form of tighter numbers. “But I think we filled a lot of those flows back, you know, six months ago when we had major disease issues from Canada. So I think that’s a little bit telling story of why
our kill numbers are maybe a little bit more than a year ago.”

Moving forward he’s hearing of packers killing Saturday kills in April which is friendly and indicates tighter numbers. The weights this week finally fell below last week and a year ago.

Funds Still Liquidating
Unfortunately, he says the funds are still liquidating in the hogs and indicated by the dropping open interest. “It was sitting at like 380,000 in the hog complex and I think we lost about 45,000 of that. So that’s one of the reasons why we saw such a big... downtrend here and cash and cutout have been sideways too. So you had a pretty big premium,” he adds.

Corn, Soybeans Under Pressure on Profit Taking
The corn and soybean markets are lower on Friday morning seeing profit taking heading into the weekend on fear of war developments. The market has also rallied anticipating the RVO levels being announced on Friday.

However, Kooima says the row crop markets are seeing buying on the pullbacks. So even if there is some buy the rumor, sell the fact reaction to the RVO announcement, he thinks the market will be well supported due to inflation concerns.

Inflationary Buying
Kooima says with rising energy prices that is fueling inflation concerns which is supportive of the grain markets.

“And I think that’s why you’re seeing the funds take on these little dips that we’ve seen this week. They’re building a long position. They have a nice long position ready, well over 200,000 for both corn and beans. And I think they’re looking to add to that on any kind of a
break there. So if we do have kind of a buy the rumor, sell the fact, I think it’s going to be met with some buying.”

Longer term he thinks higher oil prices will stay high due to the infrastructure damage in Iran and that will continue to support inflationary buying.

Beef Profit Tracker: Packer Utilization Increases to 78%

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:07:50 GMT

Union workers at the JBS Greeley, Colo., plant went on strike last Monday, slaughter for the week was the lowest on record or close to it, and Sterling’s calculation of packer margins for the week was $107/head. Are all three related? Perhaps. One thing is certain – the strike led to reduced slaughter capacity, which may not be permanent but at any rate, utilization was bumped up to 78%, which is good.

Feedlots continued to face red ink last week. We can debate whether that is the result of the 5-Area Direct Choice steer prices averaging $235.25/cwt. for the week or break-evens hovering in the low $240 range.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending March 21.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)

Cattle Rally with Equities, Fade COF Report: Grains Fall with Crude Oil

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 16:24:19 GMT

Cattle and hog futures were mostly higher early Monday, with grains mostly lower.

Cattle Follow Equities
Cattle futures are higher early following the big rally in the equity markets and fading the USDA Cattle on Feed Report.

Scott Varilek with Kooima Kooima Varilek says the financial markets are up and crude oil is down following President Trump’s post this morning that the U.S. is postponing a strike on Iran power plants and energy infrastructure for 5-days, signaling a de-escalation of the war.

The cattle market has been ebbing and flowing with the S&P and crude oil so the positive move gives traders some confidence that consumer demand for beef will hold.

Cattle Absorb COF
The cattle market was also absorbing the USDA Cattle on Feed Report numbers from Friday with the one feed total at 11.55 million head and at 99.7%, placements at 103.7% and above estimates, with marketings at 93%.

Varilek says the placements number though is being compared to some of the tightest cattle numbers in history and a time when the border was closed to Mexican feeder cattle.

“We’re comparing to a historically low number the year before and we break it all down 40,000 head extra placed is not as big of a swing as you’d actually think,” he says, “We’ve soaked up a lot worse news, I think, in the cattle market than that.”

Some of the extra placements likely came from drought and the need to place some cattle with the wildfires destroying grazing areas he adds.

“Cow-calf country is looking pretty dry right now and in pretty much an expanded area. Last year, different tone. We had some moisture. We were feeling good. It was a nice shot in the arm and now looking pretty dry to start the year. We need to see some rain, some thunderstorms start to move across. We’ve got the wildfires. I mean, that’s been kind of a headline, but even before the fires, I think that was already a story, just how dry we’re looking.

“But with a stock market this strong today, I think that’s what’s winning over in the cattle market. Maybe easing these energy prices consumers can start to feel a little better.”

Steady Fed Cash Trade
The futures already rallied on Friday despite a lower stock market being pulled up by mostly steady cash trade in the fed market.

Varilek says he is surprised to see steady cash with the heavier weights the cattle are carrying.

“I think that was the surprise that we did get steady cash. Now, we say steady cash, and that feels good to say, but it’s not like we have all of the packers out there beating down doors looking for cattle. It’s still slow moving. Our kills are still very slow. You know, we’re off the pace. You think maybe they’re really going to pick up some chain speed, and they don’t,” he explains.

Varilek says Greeley killed about 350 head on Friday but there is no word that the strike has been resolved at the JBS plant.

“They’ve only just killed a few hundred head here and there is all that we’re hearing just with some of their workers that are showing up. And it’s not like we have a good source of information for what’s the future there, what’s happening, is there any headway? Don’t know yet,” he states.

Cash This Week?
Varilek is hopeful cash trade can hold this week with some increased packer demand.

“There’s still a lot of optimism that hey demand is good packers are going to need some cattle we’ll get really going again by then and packers are going to be out in the market. So, it’s only been you know one or two packers long story short last week that we’re in hard enough to matter but guys were able to get some sold and take some bids because our show list did grow here a little bit in the north as we’re starting to carry over some cattle. So anytime you see some move, I think that just makes you feel just a little bit better.”

The caveat is packers have slowed kill to only 508,000 head last week, so producers are still working to get their leverage back.

However, he says packers are seeing some black ink with higher boxed beef values and demand ramping up for the grilling season.

“So I feel okay about cash yet because I think that there’s some packers that haven’t bought a lot of cattle and they are going to want some.”

Can Futures Break Through Resistance?
In this volatile environment Varilek says the technicals are not providing as much clear direction.

“I think we’re all reaching for what we can look at. Where can we draw some lines? We know that we’ve had this large uptrend and the long-term charts are still safe. It’s what can we do? Can we hold some of these levels here at the $230? If we start slipping under $230, does it get a little sloppy? We tried to form a little downtrend line. You know, trying to measure off of that. We kind of broke that. So we’re moving so erratic every other day that it’s kind of the market that stops get filled either side of the market. So I haven’t found a technical that’s just saying, hey, this is what we’re trading off of right now,” he explains.

Hogs Bounce But Funds Have Been Liquidating
Lean hog futures are up with cattle and the stock market Monday.

However, the futures have seen some long liquidation by the funds recently with the poor chart pattern and that caused a big drop in open interest.

“So the funds were heavy longs in that market and really unwound quite a bit last week during all of the outside market noise that we’re having,” he says.

Fundamentally though the market has been trying to price in lower numbers tied to disease and there is news circulating that packers could be cutting Saturday kills in April which would be positive.

“Kill cut in hogs will rally that product and and that can be tied to that contract in their formula that they have so might be okay that might help push this thing back higher,” he adds. He thinks that could push hogs back to test $110.

Hogs are also awaiting the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. The last report was bearish and so Varilek says there could be some nervous positioning ahead of that.

Grains Fall with Crude Oil
Grains futures were slightly lower early Monday in tandem with the correction in the crude oil market.

“Yeah, that has to be the lead indicator here with the energy markets much lower. It’s not like the greens are doing anything too wild today, just maybe a little correction,” he says.

However, as the market gets closer to the USDA acreage and stocks data at the end of the month, Varilek thinks the focus may shift away from the energy markets.

Cattle, Hogs Fall With Equities: Corn, Soybeans Lifted by Crude Oil

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 15:43:29 GMT

Cattle and hogs were both lower early Thursday. Corn and soybeans were slightly higher with wheat lower.

Cattle Futures Correct
Live and feeder cattle futures were lower early Thursday. Joe Kooima of Kooima Kooima Varilek says live cattle had three higher closes and finally got above some chart resistance on Wednesday.

However, the futures are trading back below that area with the weight of the lower equity markets.

“This last week and a half, we’ve been tied to the equity market. You can almost put a chart of crude oil up and the stock market lower over there. And that’s usually how the cattle market will go in the morning. And it’s been a lot of gaps, whether they’re lower or higher. But I do think we have a little bit of a two tiered approach in the cattle. Yes, equities lower this morning we have the war rhetoric a little bit higher especially later afternoon yesterday, so that is the culprit,” he explains.

Into Chart Resistance
The futures are also into chart resistance.
“You can draw a little bit of a downtrend line on feeders and fats we hit our head on there on Tuesday. Then yesterday we hit it a few times and had a pretty good close. But unfortunately with the equities doing what they’re doing now you have a chart that looks a little weak that we couldn’t propel up through that downtrend line,” he adds.

Feeders Watch Corn and Cash
The higher corn market has been a slight headwind for the feeder cattle futures as well as the risk off in the equity sector but Kooima says cash is moving back higher in the auction barns which is supportive.

“This week also you’re seeing southern barns $8 to $10 higher, as much as $15 higher. So, I think that’s just the number situation in the tight supply,” he says.

Higher Fed Cash This Week?
Fed cash has been non-existent so far this week and may not trade until after the Cattle on Feed Report Friday.

Kooima says last week cash was $5 lower as packers had the leverage with their kill cuts, but the volume was light and show lists were carried over. So far packers have not used the heavy weights against producers, so he is hoping packers have to bid more aggressively this week.

He says $1 to $2 higher would be a real victory. “Up until yesterday, you’re thinking that, hey, let’s try to get $3, $4, $5 better on cash just by judging where the April futures track, it is typically over $3, $4 above that. But yeah, you’re going to get a little regression today with the action of the marketplace. Packers are probably going to wait until after the on feed report,” he says.

The Cattle on Feed Report will compare to a year ago and the tightest numbers ever so the trade guess for placements is around 100%, on feed at 99% and marketings at 92%.

Packer Kills Cuts, JBS Strike
Packers had regained some leverage cutting kills and that has pushed Choice boxed beef values above $400.

The market has also absorbed the JBS plant strike in Greeley, CO as the plant has been dark the last two weeks, while cattle were diverted to Grand Island, NE and Cactus, TX plants.

Kooima says packer profits have seen a $300 to $400 swing. “The packers aren’t going to just run away with that. They’re making $100, $150 on paper. But I think they want to have maybe a few weeks of that to really get themselves in the black. And then I think they’re going to be forced to be like, all right, let’s try to make some money here. And we’re not too far away from a spring demand event, but that’s a couple of weeks down the road potentially. But those are something that’s something that we’re going to keep our ear to the ground on and just, hey, if there’s some Saturday kills starting to show up, I think that leverage swings right back to the producer.”

Hogs Consolidating
Lean hog futures were lower early Thursday with cattle and the lower equity market and have been consolidating off the highs.

Kooima says hogs are usually more recession proof and ignore the equities but there is fund long liquidation with the technical damage that was done to the charts.

“Starting last week we kind of broke a little bit of an uptrend line the cash and cutout have been relatively flat especially the cutout it goes down to $98 hits it set on $100 and back and forth we go. The cash is a little bit better this morning and is about the highest we’ve had in two weeks. The open interest every day has been declining which tells me that some of the funds are just liquidating they’re not getting short they’re just coming out of some length,” he explains.

The market is also waiting for slaughter numbers and weights to start declining with the increasing disease problems.

“Weights are a little higher than a year ago. Our kill numbers are a little bit higher as well. Not much, but we keep kind of getting preached about numbers are going to get smaller. They should be tight now with the disease aspect. So what I’m going to be looking to hear from customers in the next little while to see if these packers maybe start actually taking off a Saturday kill in the hog world that’s extremely friendly because that’s going to bolster your cutout level to a higher level,” he says.

Corn and Soybeans Higher With Crude Oil
Corn and soybeans futures are higher early Thursday adding risk premium and following higher crude oil.

He says, “I think it’s all really tied to more of the energy marketplace. You look at soy oil, look at the crude oil and what that’s doing as well. That’s keeping some bidding underneath these price levels.”

After the massive liquidation on Monday the funds have been back in buying in corn and soybeans especially as the war in Iran heats up.

“Yesterday, we kind of saw a little bit more of what’s really going on over there, as Israel is also attacking without the U.S. knowing. So I think the funds are kind of taking on that and saying, this thing is going to go on for a while. The damage has been done. Now we got oil.
Gas fields exploding. The infrastructure is going to take a long time to repair. So I think these funds are kind of in it just for a little bit more of a long haul,” he explains.

The funds are also buying grains and other markets on inflation fears as economic indicators are starting to show the evidence and impact of the higher energy markets.

“Anytime that you have a headline like that, the funds aren’t afraid to plow into some of those grains,” he says.

CAB Insider: March 18

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 12:07:16 GMT

Cash fed cattle values have been under pressure from several factors over the past two weeks. The Iranian conflict began overshadowing equity markets earlier this month, while that general market uncertainty spilled over to Live Cattle futures, negatively impacting cash values.

Just as importantly, continuation of smaller weekly cattle harvest volumes have given packers a measure of pricing power over feedyards for the period. Finally, the strike at the JBS-Greeley packing facility, initiated last week, is a headwind in the region as JBS redirects cattle to its other plants. These combined factors have seen prices retreat from $243/cwt. two weeks ago to last week’s $234/cwt. average. Despite this, Live Cattle futures posted gains Monday and Tuesday.

(Certified Angus Beef)

Carcass weights remain heavy, relenting just 8 lb. lower than the December record-high in the latest report. In the last five years, steer carcass weights have declined 16 lb. from the beginning of January through mid-March, on average. This year, steer weights have declined by only 4 lb. for the period. While 2026 fed cattle supplies are estimated to be the lowest in the cycle, it appears that the feedlot sector is, ironically, becoming less current on market-ready cattle inventory.

Carcass cutout values have followed the opposite trajectory to that of cattle, with last week’s sharp upticks adding punctuation to increases building in prior weeks. Beef demand continues to hold strong with the “All Fresh” retail beef price at a record $9.64/lb. in February. Price increases in March are in line with the seasonal trend, but the 30-cent-per-lb. rise from mid-February through last week is more pronounced than similar patterns in recent years. Undoubtedly, limited cattle harvest throughput and the onset of early spring beef demand have combined to spur the increase.

Quality Soaring Higher

The 2025 U.S. annual average share for Prime carcasses set a new high watermark at 11.9% of fed cattle. While not a formidable percentage compared to USDA Choice at 72% of the mix, growing supplies in the Prime category have been transformational for the beef industry. With Prime historically relegated to just 2-3% of total fed cattle supply, it began it’s rise in 2013 with incremental annual increases.

The contrast is starker by illustrating the change in Prime carcass tonnage over this short timeline. First, we must factor in carcass weights, which were 85 lb. heavier in 2025 than in 2012, the last year that Prime comprised a 3% or less share. The Prime production increase was not linear over this period, yet has made a convincing overall move, generating 263% increased carcass tonnage in 2025 compared to 2012.

As if this weren’t enough, the Prime category has soared at a renewed pace since last September. Beef stakeholders rightly assumed that the Prime grade would continue to perform, given the current weather and feeding sector economics. Yet, the pace of the increase has likely outpaced most guesses, as the Prime grade has not charted below 14% of the grade mix so far in 2026.

(Certified Angus Beef)

March tends to be the month with the richest marbling, as both CAB and Prime percentages peak at this time. The month started with a highlight well outside the trend, with USDA reporting that Nebraska packers averaged 24.3% Prime across their harvest in the first week of the month. The nearly 7% increase over the prior week is staggering enough to raise questions. However, with carcass weights remaining record-heavy for this time of year (32 lb. heavier than a year ago), one must embrace new possibilities.

Ultra-heavy carcasses and extended feeding days are a double-edged sword for the Certified Angus Beef brand. The richer marbling trend increases the share of eligible carcasses that meet the Modest 00 or higher requirement. Yet moderate slippage of carcasses above the 1,100 lb. maximum, plus a few with backfat above the 1-inch limit, are the most noted of the other specifications capping growth in brand acceptance rates currently.

Increased Prime carcass production is a boon to sales growth in this category for both Certified Angus Beef and the industry as a whole. A smaller Prime cutout premium above Choice also means greater adoption of this premium product tier by grocers and restaurants. All of the above lead to a firmer foothold for beef as the protein of choice for consumers.

Beef Profit Tracker: Packer Margins Improve While Feedlot Margins Weaken

Tue, 17 Mar 2026 16:39:47 GMT

There are plenty of events to impact the beef market — strike at JBS plant, Iran, oil prices, tariffs — but amid all of the potential impact of these events, wholesale prices have increased, indicating beef demand remains strong.

Union employees at the JBS plant in Greeley, Colo., went on strike Monday. There have been plenty of opinions about the impact of the strike on the market; I won’t get into that conversation other than to say that it will impact fed cattle plant capacity. My simplified math — the plant’s capacity is 5,400 head a day and that accounts for roughly 5½% of total weekly capacity at fed cattle plants. Taking that out of a 525,000 weekly kill would bump utilization from 76% to 83%. Again, that analysis is based on a couple of assumptions that may or may not hold, and I am presenting this as a possible impact on capacity. JBS has already stated they can move that production to other plants.

With weaker slaughter cattle prices over the past two weeks and a stronger cutout, there has been a shift in margins — significant improvement in packer margins and weaker feedlot margins. Last week’s beef packer margin was the best margin the same week in December. However, it is too early to draw conclusions. High break-evens going forward create a tedious situation for feedlots, but against those high break-evens is demand as the industry has never known.

I believe the Iran situation is likely to be concluded in the not-too-distant future, and oil prices will fall. Regarding tariffs, it seems to be a moving target.

View the full Sterling Beef Profit Tracker for the week ending March 14.

The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are calculated by Sterling Marketing, Vale, Ore.

(Note: The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker calculates an average beef cutout value for the week in its estimates for feedyard and packer margins. Other prices in the weekly Profit Tracker also are calculated weekly averages. Feedyard margins are calculated on a cash basis only with no adjustment for risk management practices. The Beef and Pork Profit Trackers are intended only as a benchmark for the average cash costs of feeding cattle and hogs. Sterling Marketing is a private, independent beef and pork consulting firm not associated with any packing company or livestock feeding enterprise.)

Why Cattle Faded the JBS Strike: Soybeans Tank on Fear Over Trump/Xi Meeting

Mon, 16 Mar 2026 15:33:01 GMT

Cattle and hogs were higher early Monday with the grain markets sharply lower led by soybeans.

Cattle Fade JBS Plant Strike
Live and feeder cattle futures opened higher on Monday morning, fading the JBS plant strike in Greeley, CO.

Brad Kooima with Kooima Kooima Varilek says there were a couple of reasons the market ignored the strike and the biggest was the higher equity markets and lower crude oil. However, it was also tied to the fact the strike news was already priced into the market.

Kooima says Greeley was already dark last week. “There seems to be some confusion about what went on last week but you know the week before Friday in the afternoon the the union voted to strike or to walk out in 7 days. When they gave management their decision the manager said don’t bother coming next week. So last week we didn’t kill cattle at Greeley because of that. Now this week we’re on strike.”

He says interestingly enough the headline following algorithms that might be selling on the plant strike saw an offset from the outside markets like the equities.

How Long Will the Strike Last?
Kooima says the key to how long the market can continue to hold up depends on how long the strike lasts.

“I don’t know how long the strike’s going to last. But, I mean, it’s not going to last forever. I don’t think this is 1979 where that place went on strike for a year, if anybody doesn’t remember that. 79 into 80, a year at Greeley. I do think that this will be sooner rather than later. “

In the meantime he says JBS has been largely out of the cash market for several weeks.

“So if they would settle and need to try to buy some cattle, I would think you’d get a lift on the front end of the cattle futures and probably improve the cash market as well. So I don’t know if that’s this week, next week, or if it takes a little longer than that. To me, it’s a matter of how many weeks do we think it’s going to last,” he explains.

Could President Trump Step In?
There has also been speculation that a strike would not last long because President Trump might order the employees to go back to work.

Kooima says, “That’s news to me. You know, President Trump is unpredictable. How’s that for a polite answer? I think he’s got plenty of other things to worry about right now than that, although we all know he thinks beef’s too high, although he has put that comment in the closet, thankfully, here the last while.”

Less Negative Impact Because of Tight Cattle Numbers?
The impact of the Greeley plant being dark and removing the ability to kill the 5,400 head a day the plant slaughter may also be muted because of the tight numbers in the current cattle cycle and excess slaughter capacity says Kooima.

“If we were running along killing 125,000 a day, for instance, I think it would have been a lot more devastating. As it is, there’s still, like you just said, there’s not enough cattle to fill what we’ve got. And so I’m not alone thinking that there’s a chance that another plant will go down before this cycle’s over with yet,” he adds.

Can Cattle Recover?
Cattle futures were higher to start Monday and the April contract had filled an important gap area. However, the market was stopped at the first layer of chart resistance. So can the futures fully recover especially with the stock market on weak footing due to the Iran war?

Kooima says there are many headwinds right now in the market including the fact the packer has regained leverage. That’s why cash was $5 lower last week at $235.

“Cash was five lower last week, and we didn’t hardly sell any cattle. Feedlots showed quite a bit of resistance to the lower bids. So now we’re going to heighten that negotiation here this week because we’ve got carryover cattle and some of these cattle are big. So we’ll see who blinks first,” he says.

The other key will be what the stock market does from here and whether futures can regain enough strength to get fund or speculative traders to re-enter the market.

Lean Hogs Bounce With Cattle
Lean hog futures were also higher early Monday with help from cattle and a more risk on tone in the equity markets.

However, Kooima admits the resiliency in the cash and cutouts have also been supportive for the market, plus the tighter numbers expected ahead due to disease.

Grains Tank on Fear of China Meeting Cancellation
After a gap lower on Sunday night the grain markets were sharply lower on Monday. Soybeans were down over 50 cents early on fear that President Trump was going to cancel his meeting with President Xi in China at the end of the month, striking down chances for additional soybean purchases.

Trump asked China over the weekend to help get the Strait of Hormuz opened to allow crude oil to be shipped and threatened if they did not agree he would cancel the summit with the two leaders.

Kooima says the soybean market is taking out premium on that fear and that is spilling over to drag down the grains. However, the lower crude oil market is also taking some of the air out of the grain market balloon.