Mackey: Standoff Ends With Steady
The all-week fight ended up steady. Cattle feeders backed off early week anticipations and moved cattle at steady money. The South was first to trade at $157. Meanwhile later week in the North saw trade with showlists marked at $157 Live and $252 dressed, with a few outside trades at $255. The forecast calls for warmer weather, at mostly above freezing temperatures, and Cattle feeders in the North were encouraged to move weathered cattle before pen conditions become the main talking point.
No question packers see just enough cattle through this time period to play it cool and not get themselves out of position, keeping the buy light and the harvest under control. Week to date slaughter came in at 563,000 head. That’s 16,000 head more than the week previous, but still under a year ago. However, the stronger cutout through the week might suggest a more aggressive slaughter pace for next week.
The Cattle Contract Library goes into effect today. Most will look for this to provide some much-needed transparency to our cattle market. One thing we know for sure, the packers’ participation in the cash market will grow to meet their needs as we mover throughout the year. The cattle feeder’s confidence in this market should grow along with it.
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.
