Cash cattle finally made an upward turn last week. The combination between producers waiting and packers driving harder to get on the frontend cattle pushed the market to $142 in the South. Packers continued to take on good inventory knowing that available numbers will continue to shorten up as we move forward.
Cattle feeders in the North didn’t see as much upside in their market but were able to keep cash mostly at $143 and dressed cattle in the mid to upper $220’s.
Going forward producers in the South will more than likely see packers seek the higher grading cattle. This will likely turn into a two-tiered market with higher grading cattle bring a dollar or two above more plant-average cattle. Packers seem to act like they have plenty in the North, but this cushion could also disappear rather quickly leaving packers on the search for grade in the North.
