Markets
Cattle feeders in the South were able to keep the market mostly steady to higher for the week. Most cash trades were $95-$96 with producers finding themselves in a position to pass on lower bids for front end cattle.
Progress appears slow in erasing the backlog of cattle in America’s feedyards, and carcass weights averaging 4.2% heavier are the equivalent of 21,000 more cattle coming to market than last year.
Steers and heifers sold higher at auctions on the Northern Plains, with feeder cattle trading uneven at auctions in the Southeast and South Central regions.
The more current status of feedyards in the North has given the regions feeders more opportunity to fight for higher market prices than feeders in the South.
Packers should be back to six-day work weeks now that we are through the July 4th holiday, but an abundance of protein in the system should be expected to hamper cattle markets this summer.
The maps are made using seven-day forecasts based on four weather parameters – temperature, humidity, wind speed and cloud cover. Each parameter plays a significant role in the overall heat balance of feedlot cattle.
Negotiated cash fed cattle continued to trade at softer prices last week while feeder cattle were called steady to higher at auctions.
Ag economist Derrell Peel says past events provide a case study to current market conditions and give a clue into the way markets respond to disasters.
Cattle feeders knew selling ahead of a short holiday week would create additional challenges for cash cattle prices and the ability to move cattle. Unfortunately, trade volumes met low expectations.
As cattle feeders hold on to fat cattle until the opportunity to be harvested arises, it is important to prepare for periods of extreme heat by developing a heat stress management plan.
The downward spiral in the cash cattle trade is ongoing as the number of market-ready cattle continues to grow. Showlists are already overburdened to date, and market-ready cattle add to the list weekly.
Negotiated fed cattle trades volumes were higher with the 5-area near 95,000 head. Despite the active cash trade, fed cattle prices traded $5 to $6 lower at $98 to $105, with the bulk of trades at $100 to $102.
Retail grocery will transition from limited beef supplies in recent weeks to ample supplies at the same time food service demand is slowly building this fall.
Cargill launches the Cargill Cares Employee Disaster Relief Fund to support employees around the world during times of catastrophic or personal disaster.
Slaughter numbers approached year-ago levels for the week as beef packers are operating at near-capacity and wholesale beef prices continue lower.
U.S. cattle slaughter was up an estimated 25% over the previous holiday-shortened week as beef packers gradually return to near-normal capacity utilization.
Cattle prices held firm as slaughter numbers increased and wholesale beef prices declined, though narrowing packer margins will place added pressure on markets in the weeks ahead.
Cash prices are steady for now, but Tyson turned down some cattle last week that they thought are now too big, which is a huge concern other feeders may encounter in the near future.
The feedlot industry will spend much of the summer working through the backlog of fed cattle but the hole from March and April feedlot placements should provide a marketing window to catch up by this fall if not before.
Global beef trade is dynamic and trade levels rise and fall based on factors such as changes in currency valuation, areas of drought and global demand.
Cash cattle prices traded higher last week, and for the first time in several weeks most of the major beef packing plants should be up and running this week, though not full-throttle.
Nebraska Cattlemen board amended existing policy to strengthen standing language by mandating packers to purchase a minimum of 50% of their weekly slaughter in the negotiated market.
The South Dakota Farmers Union is seeking investors to help purchase the DemKota Ranch Beef packing plant in Aberdeen, S.D., which has capacity to harvest 1,200 fed cattle per day.
Some operational changes made by the packing and processing centers are likely to remain after the COVID-19 pandemic is over, leaving some higher costs in the supply-chain.
Blue Grass Stockyards and Top Dollar Angus will collaborate around a shared vision to significantly expand the number of Top Dollar Angus verified cattle east of the Mississippi River.
First-of-its-kind report from Farm Journal’s Trust In Food initiative and The Sustainability Consortium explores the complex relationship among farmers, their operation’s production data and conservation.
The cattle industry sees a glimmer of hope in last week’s harvest data, with estimated slaughter at 452,000 head, down 32.2 percent year-over-year, but up 6.4 percent from the prior week.
Boxed beef cutout values continue to perform like the early days of Bitcoin trading, with Choice advancing $84 per cwt. since last Friday.
In a letter to NCBA officers, agricultural economist Stephen R. Koontz says his work is taken out of context when used as a support for mandating beef packers to purchase at least 30% of their cattle on a cash basis.
The closure of 90% of American meat plants over the last 50 years isn’t due to a lack of knowledge or a failure to reinvest in facilities – it’s due to decades of lax antitrust enforcement, says Joaquin Contente.