Trade developed early-week in eastern Nebraska at $153 live and $242 dressed, and in the Kansas/Texas region at $150 or steady with the previous week.
Newfound strength in CME futures provided confidence to the remaining feeders to drag the fight into Thursday. They’d win the battle with the Packers advancing prices another $2 in most regions. The bulk of the business would be done at $155 in the North and $152 in the South— a new high for the year.
Week to date the National volume shows packers have purchased 128,172 head in the cash market. That’s 11,956 head fewer than last week. Combined with the impressive harvest pace, the packer continues to lose position.
This week’s harvest estimates coming in at 682,000 would be the biggest of the year by 10,000 head. Looking at the last 10 weeks of harvest data (post Labor Day till now) it is the biggest total since 2002. Nothing short of impressive. Packers are firing on all cylinders keeping their pipeline plentiful.
Cattle on Feed Report out Friday confirmed the record small placements with the smallest total since the series began. The smaller placements support the fewer number of cattle remaining outside feedyards. The larger marketings have been fueled by the aggressive harvest pace. The numbers are as follows: COF 98, PLC 94, and MRK 101. Looking ahead prices should advance as the cattle feeder becomes a tougher trader on the remaining inventory.
A native of Torrington, WY, Brodie Mackey joined Consolidated Beef Producers in the spring of 2013 after earning his B.S. from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Brodie’s focus at CBP includes customer development, cattle marketing and evaluation in Nebraska, Northeast Colorado, South Dakota and Wyoming. For more about Consolidated Beef Producers visit here.
