Beef packers could be moving into a period with smaller inventories, which may prompt them to push prices higher. CME futures prices will again have an impact on the cash trade.
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%.
A Brazilian Superior Court ruled Tuesday Joesley and Wesley Batista can return to positions of management at J&F Holding, the parent company of JBS SA, the world’s largest meat packer.
Brazilian labor prosecutors are suing meatpacker JBS SA seeking damages and better work conditions after an outbreak of the novel coronavirus at a meat plant in Ipumirim, in the southern state of Santa Catarina.
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.
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.
"A lot of folks think we should mandate with a law—a federal LAW, mind you, because those always work out so well—that more feeders sell in the cash market. But tying feeders’ hands like this isn’t the answer."
Last week’s federally inspected cattle harvest brought a much brighter outlook to the supply chain, as it marked a two-week continuance of increased head counts in the country’s packing facilities.
