Latest News From Markets

Cattle prices were softer across all regions last week despite cattle futures prices regaining some momentum. Wholesale beef prices also declined after the Labor Day holiday.

An increase in horses showing signs of equine asthma during crop harvest season is possible as horses pastured near fields may be exposed to dust when crops are harvested.

Packers took on more inventory last week, which allows them to sit out and leverage the extra volume to push the market lower with potential extended delivery periods.

A pair of studies at Kansas State University is bringing new insight to farmers and producers seeking to incorporate industrial hemp in cattle feed.

As technology advances the range of sensor applications will continue to expand as will the duration of data collection.

Top Dollar Angus seeks a knowledgeable, passionate and hardworking leader to assist in further expanding its seedstock partnership and feeder cattle programs.

Stepping into a cattle pen, we naturally act the predator, manipulating where animals go. But good handling practices should turn us into leaders, says Kip Lukasiewicz.

Cash cattle trading started early last week as cattle feeders in Texas began on Monday by accepting cash bids a dollar lower.

Markets will no doubt evolve this fall and producers must continue to evaluate winter grazing potential under dynamic market conditions and profit potential may vary widely.

Cattle feeders are anticipating that the current run up in the cash market may have hit the peak and could plateau before long.

Friday's USDA cattle on feed report held a few surprises for cattlemen, and analysts are finding the available data a challenge after the turbulence witnessed the first half of 2020.

Cattle prices rallied for the seventh consecutive week, adding $12 per cwt. over that span. Cattle on feed numbers were up 2% Aug. 1, with July placements up 11%.

Farm and ranch kids are pretty cool. This edition of Black Ink touches on what we can learn from the way they learn.

If you are targeting selling your calves during one of this fall's value-added or preconditioned sales, be mindful some of the required weaning dates are only days away.

For his immeasurable impact on the industry and the people in it, Matsushima will receive the 2020 Feeding Quality Forum Industry Achievement Award. He’ll be recognized during the virtual event, slated for Aug. 25-26.

Cash cattle prices moved higher again for the sixth consecutive week, with the North still trading premium to the South. Feedyards in the South appear to be cleaning up faster than expected.

Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was called “moderate to active” this week. Surging box beef prices coupled with improved feedyard market leverage spurred prices higher.

The fed steer and heifer market keeps working toward normalized levels, but at a very slow pace. Last week’s $101/cwt. steer price was roughly a dollar higher than the week prior.  

Negotiated cash cattle prices pushed higher again for the sixth consecutive week as feedyards have gained some market leverage with declining supplies.

Cattle feeders saw continued higher prices in the cash market last week with cattle in the South trading at $99 to $100, with the majority of the cattle going at the higher end.

Vytelle announces through its GrowSafe business the launch of the Beef Marketing Program to monitor individual animal performance, predict carcass weight and optimally market cattle in the feedlot.

Cattle markets rallied again the first full week of August with both fed cattle and feeders reported at $3 per cwt. higher.

As technology advances, our ability to monitor behavior in a normal feeding environment will help determine if efficiency causes the behavior or the behavior makes cattle more efficient.

Data from USDA's monthly cattle on feed reports and rising feeder cattle prices in July suggest cattle feeders have pen space to fill and the backlog of cattle is now diminishing.

Cash fed cattle prices inched higher the last week of July, but cattle feeders struggle with heavy per head losses. Finished hog prices rallied $4 last week, cutting per head losses by 25%.

Preliminary GDP data suggest the U.S. experienced an unprecedented economic decline during the second quarter of 2020, leading to uncertainty about consumer beef demand for the remainder of the year.

The 15th Annual Certified Angus Beef Feeding Quality Forum will be held virtually this year on Aug. 25 and 26, offering key marketing insights and unique perspectives on the beef supply chain’s future.

Agri Beef, a cattle feeding, farming and beef processing company in business since 1968, announced it plans to open a new beef packing facility in Jerome, Idaho.

A Texas A&M AgriLife study will determine differences in nitrogen requirements between Brahman type cattle and others, which may allow producers to reduce the protein in cattle diet formulations.

The Fed Cattle Exchange, the only weekly fed cattle online auction for the cattle industry, has been acquired by Central Stockyards, LLC from 5150 Productions Company, LLC.

Cattle feeding margins have slowly improved over the past few weeks, but average closeouts continue to show losses in excess of $100 per head.

The Checkoff-funded National Beef Quality Assurance (BQA) Program, managed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), is now recognized as an industry-leading animal welfare program.

USDA's release o Friday of Cattle on Feed and Cattle Inventory report data suggests backlog is decreasing in feedyards and beef cow numbers are tightening across cattle country.

Cash fed cattle prices are slowly but steadily pushing higher with prices in the North at a premium to prices paid to southern feedyards.

Cattle on feed in feedyards with 1,000 or more head totaled 11.4 million July 1, the second highest inventory since the series began in 1996.

Since the week of May 16 when the beef cutout hit record highs, the price has fallen 56%. Simultaneously, weekly beef production has increased 29% and carcass weights are averaging 37 pounds more than last year.

USDA released Wednesday the long-awaited report on its investigation into cattle market disruptions following last year’s Tyson Foods packing plant fire and this spring’s impact from the coronavirus pandemic.

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.

The National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF) announces a four-year strategic partnership with Cargill funded by a $3 million contribution from the company’s protein business.

Boxed beef prices have dropped to their lowest level since 2017, and beef production will continue at a pace above last year with carcass weights up 35 pounds year-over-year.

Cattle futures closed mostly higher for the third consecutive trading session Friday. According to Pro Farmer, August live cattle settled unchanged, while deferred contracts posted modest price gains Friday.

Cattle feeders holding hedged cattle are finding a strong negative basis of $5 to $7 per cwt., compared with the positive basis of $3 to $5 last July.

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.

Here are some ways to help manage stress in cattle during the summer and how to help their caregivers manage their own stress to enable them to be successful.

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.

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.

One impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the beef industry has been an increase in the number of carcasses grading Prime, but the shuttering of high-end restaurants that sell Prime beef, however, softened demand.

Cattle feeders and pork producers continue to experience significant per head losses as market prices trend lower following slaughter and processing challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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.

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.