Markets
Cattle feeding losses averaged $83 per head last week, while packers recorded $168 per head profits, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.
Cattle feeding profits improved with $1 per cwt. higher cash prices and lower feeder cattle prices calculated against last week’s closeouts.
While cash cattle prices slipped only modestly, cattle feeders saw margins erode by $86 per head, falling from an average profit of $38 two weeks ago to an average loss of $49 per head last week.
The cash market for fed cattle last week gave some relief to feeders and overall market sentiment in the wake of the prior week’s $5/cwt. decline.
Losses continued to grow for feedyards and the spread between feeder losses and packer profits only widened with a $1.50 per cwt. decline in cash cattle prices last week.
Beef packer continued with a stranglehold on cattle markets last week, buying a few cattle to fill their needs at lower money and keeping operating margins historically high.
Clear Lab uses a robotic platform to improve food safety and its method shortens testing turnaround times by up to five days.
While Dale Durcholz does think there’s potential for a grain production number shift, he says the winter farmers and feed yards have faced is more likely to be the cause of a grain stocks shift lower.
Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures fell more than 1% on Wednesday on technical selling, softer cash cattle markets this week and worries about export demand for U.S. beef, traders said.
Market dynamics and consumer shifts support U.S. beef.
The beef cattle industry will receive $5.1 billion of CFAP funding to partially offset 2020 losses due to COVID-19. USDA expects to begin sign-up in early May and distribute payments by late May or early June.
COVID-19 has temporarily placed a restriction on the number of cattle that can be harvested in a given week. That scenario is usually a recipe for lower prices, but this week’s extremely light fed trade was steady.
The coronavirus meltdown is the second black swan event for cattlemen in six months, but many fear this is worse than the Tyson packing plant fire.
Tyson Foods announced a one-time assistance payments to cattle feeders “in an effort to demonstrate our commitment and support of our valued cattle suppliers.”
Significantly reduced slaughter levels brought the full weight of the COVID-19 crisis to bear on cattle markets this week as cash cattle prices declined and boxed beef prices spiked to record highs.
While any tally of cattle waiting on shackle space is – at best – an estimate, an analysis of Cattle on Feed and slaughter data suggests estimates of 1 million cattle backlogged may be overstated by as much as 50%.
Dr. Pat Westhoff joins AgriTalk’s Chip Flory to share his spin on the latest trends in crop markets, livestock outlooks and projections for net farm income.
A recent paper offers an interesting look at an alternative model for growing cattle health and performance where efficiency was achieved using less.
Order buyers were willing to take on early-weaned calves in drought-stricken areas of the Northern Plains, according to AMS reporters.
Cash fed cattle prices posted new highs for the year this week with expectations for more next week. Wholesale beef trade this week confirmed boxed prices are headed lower after a historic run.
Feedyards across all regions sold cattle higher last week and are looking to push the market even further this week. Last week sales volumes were called light to moderate with packers chasing a tightening supply.
The reopening of restaurant and foodservice is driving beef demand to pre-pandemic levels and beyond, spiking wholesale beef prices $20 per cwt. higher this week, and more than $34 per cwt. higher over two weeks.
Demand for spring and summer grazing cattle remains high with prices reflecting good buyer competition. Agricultural Marketing Service reporters called last week’s prices for steers and heifers steady to $4 higher.
Cash cattle traded in light to moderate volumes last week, with the strongest prices in the North. Wholesale beef prices continued marching higher as demand continues strong.
Negotiated cash cattle slipped $1 to $2 lower last week, yet wholesale beef prices marched higher. USDA’s cattle on feed report found aggressive March placements.
Stocker and feeder cattle saw significant price reductions last week as grain markets continued marching higher in rapid fashion.
U.S. farmers are facing a changing scenario this year. From wet conditions impeding planting in 2020, to now drought concerns creeping in, one analyst thinks weather could be a major market mover in 2021.
Stocker and feeder cattle sold higher at auctions last week, but pressure on prices may develop as a result of the the WASDE report which projects smaller corn and soybean acres and higher grains prices.
The first hint of green grass was evident throughout much of the Midwest last week, and moisture across the High Plains was welcome with warmer weather on the way. Demand for grass cattle was high.