Markets
Progressive Beef™, a cattle management and sustainability system for feedlots, says more than two million cattle have been certified through the program and nearly four million cattle will be certified this year.
Cash fed cattle prices traded lower as futures prices set new lows for the week before a Friday rebound.
While cash fed cattle traded lower the past two weeks, traders anticipate a higher market toward spring as cattle numbers tighten seasonally and beef demand improves.
There was some hesitation among buyers this week as the CME futures had a downward turn and sell-off early in the trading period. Steers and heifers sold lower at auctions.
Agricultural Marketing Service reporters said the market was most active on “lightweight cattle, in light flesh, as numbers of those cattle are not as plentiful as their heavier mates.”
Cattle feeders were unable to push the cash market higher, settling for mostly steady money as packers were noticeably less aggressive with much narrower profit margins.
A pair of lawsuits filed last year involving a packing company and two producers have been dismissed following a confidential settlement.
Lawyers for America’s largest beef packing companies asked a federal judge on Friday to dismiss the class action suit filed against them by a group of ranchers last year.
Walmart held a grand opening of its Thomasville, Georgia, beef processing facility that will supply Black Angus beef to some 500 of its retail stores in the southeast.
Steers and heifers suitable for grazing programs sold sharply higher in the week ended Jan. 10. AMS reporters called demand good to very good at livestock auctions nationwide.
John Nalivka’s projections for the 2020 Cattle Inventory show a decline of 1.6%, which, if realized, would be smallest inventory number since 2016.
Over the past 10 weeks, cattle feeders have gained market leverage in a rally the likes of which have not been seen in many years.
The new year brings with it several changes in ongoing market dynamics, some new opportunities, and some new risks and continuing challenges for cattle and beef markets.
Packers were aggressive in obtaining inventory to start the new year, and the result was a cash cattle market that gained $2 in both the north and south.
As consumers glean more information about where their food comes from, producers need to focus on how they manage their farm or ranch. Beef Quality Assurance certification is a good place to start.
Cash cattle prices traded higher in the north, with dressed sales reported $3 to $5 higher. Feeder cattle markets saw a limited holiday-week test.
Packers were eager to push their inventory higher last week and prices in all regions responded by moving $1 to $2 higher.
Cash cattle prices traded $1 to $2 ahead of Friday’s USDA Cattle on Feed report which reported a 2.5% increase in the number of cattle in feedlots.
Steers and heifers sold at auctions this week steady to $3 lower. AMS said with the holidays and the end of the year fast approaching, many auction markets saw heavy runs of cattle.
Sharply higher carcass weights have boosted beef production, though another round of winter weather hitting parts of cattle feeding country may temper that in the last few weeks of the year.
In anticipation of reduced harvest during the holidays, packers are sitting in a good inventory position going into the next few weeks.
Brazilian federal prosecutors have charged JBS S.A. and its holding firm J&F Investmentos, along with 14 other individuals, for alleged fraud in the approval of investments and loans by national development bank.
Last week was one of the last chances for cattle feeders to push the market up to the $120-plus price range. Three packers were in the market to buy cattle by feeders chose to settle for steady money.
Severe weather inevitably means management challenges and higher costs for producers but may also have market impacts if poor conditions are widespread enough.
A recent study that didn’t condemn red meat drew outrage from numerous self-proclaimed health authorities. But a prominent M.D. has now weighed in with the opposite opinion.
Designed to identify superior Hereford-influenced feeder cattle, the Hereford Advantage program now offers additional benefits to add value to feeder cattle.
NCBA says it will work with the USDA’s Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to address the Agency’s longstanding policy on geographic origin statements for beef.
The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association calls for “accurate meat labels” and noted they have asked FSIS to use certain labeling claims to be used exclusively for cattle “born, raised and slaughtered” in the U.S.
New research highlights the ability of behavior monitoring to predict disease while enhancing health outcomes and making the pen rider’s job easier.
Cattle genetics have changed over the years, and one Kansas cattle feeder wants to make sure finishing practices have kept up.