Beef Cutout $8 Higher, Fed Cattle $2 Lower
Cash fed cattle traded at $128 per cwt. in the South, $2 lower than last week. Cattle from Northern feedyards traded at $127 to $128.50, $2 to $3 lower. Dressed trade was from $204 to $206, steady with last week.
Feeder steers and heifers sold at auction $2 per cwt. lower to $3 higher, according to AMS reporters.
A handful of feeder cattle sales outpaced the national average. AMS reported a load of 719-pound replacement quality heifers sold at $183.50 per cwt., higher than any steer mates in that weight group. A similar load of 777-pound heifers sold for $173. A package of 525-pound steers sold in Green City, MO, for $217 per cwt.
Choice beef cutout closed Friday at $218.40 per cwt., $8.52 higher than last week. Select cutout closed at $212.06, up $6.94 for the week. The Choice/Select spread was $6.34.
Thursday's Cold Storage report called total red meat supplies in freezers up 9% from the previous month, and up 1% from last year. Total pounds of beef in freezers were up 2% from the previous month, but down 7% from last year.
USDA’s February 1 cattle on feed report tallied 11.6 million head, up 8% compared to the same period last year. January marketings totaled 1.858 million head, up 6% compared to the January total. Placements totaled 2.07 million, a 4% increase over January.
