Hulett: Lack of Packer Participation Drives Market Lower
Feeders saw some of what they had gained in the live market slip away last week. Many feeders never received a bid on cattle, and the ones that did saw a bid one to three dollars lower than the week before. Cattle feeders in the South traded cattle at $119-$120 with a few trading lower than that.
The Northern feeder didn’t fare much better, but were able to hold onto their premium over the South. Cash cattle remained around $123 and dressed cattle held in at the mid to upper $190’s.
Packers needed very few cattle for last week. This issue was brought on by down time in plants last week and also some planed down time in plants for this coming week. Packers found themselves with an abundance of cattle due to these issues. The cattle on feed report offered no help with the market, but every report that compared the market to 2020 will always be flawed.