Cattle Market Reports and Analysis
Cattle feeders continued gaining market leverage this week as prices moved higher and slaughter levels declined.
The combination of smaller slaughter totals and lighter carcass weights across all cattle classes have pushed boxed beef values sharply higher.
Feedlots inventories should continue to tighten, and cattle slaughter should decline in the coming weeks, although continued drought conditions may slow the rate of decrease if more animals are liquidated.
Scott Brown, livestock economist at the University of Missouri, explains how even in a bullish cattle scenario, there are still downside risks to consider. How much risk can you afford?
Beef exports set records for both volume and value in 2022, while pork export value finished with the third-largest year on record.
CattleFax shares expert market and weather analysis at the company’s recent outlook seminar, held as part of the 2023 Cattle Industry Convention in New Orleans.
Keeping the harvest under 650,000 for six weeks has allowed packers to set the tone for the market and keep some cattle feeders desperate to move cattle.
Cattle markets traded modestly lower as slaughter levels recovered from the holiday-shortened schedules. Wholesale beef prices traded lower for the week, but Live Cattle futures ended on an up note.
Diving into 2023, the much-discussed beef cow herd culling comes home to roost, bringing on a supply challenge for the beef industry.
Cattle feeders and packers were again locked in a standoff last week negotiating prices for fed cattle. The tug-o-war continues this week with cattle feeders’ leverage growing.
Cash fed cattle traded steady on the week, but further gains in the wholesale beef market gives cattle feeders the incentive to stick to higher asking prices in the short run.
Looking ahead, the packers will look to utilize the upcoming holiday weeks to slow the slaughter pace and curb the bids for fed cattle.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has published a final rule in the Federal Register to secure the contract information needed to populate a Cattle Contracts Library.
Though it’s not quite like knowing the winning lottery numbers before they are drawn, there are some valuable insights to gain from understanding the cattle cycle and what the future might hold.
Cattle producers liquidated their herds with drought hitting cattle country. They also faced poor pasture and winter wheat conditions. So, what does that mean for the fall cattle run and the market outlook?
After a rally during the first week of 2016 to $134.04 per hundredweight, the 5-Area Accumulated Average Cattle Price dropped to $132.30 per hundredweight.
After a small dip last week to $132.30 per hundredweight, the 5-Area Accumulated Average Cattle Price jumped back up to $133.24 per hundredweight.
U.S. beef exports were down slightly from November 2014, but posted their largest volume (95,799 metric tons) since June. Most Asian markets performed well for U.S. beef in November, but exports continued to slump to le
U.S. beef exports in November showed signs of a rebound, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF), contractor to the Beef Checkoff Program.
There are few losers in the cattle market right now. From packers all the way down to cow-calf producers, current prices this summer are turning profits far into what is typically a seasonal lull.
America’s cattle feeders earned an average of $323 on a cash basis for every steer and heifer they sent to market during the first eight months of 2017.
Cattle feeding profits improved with $1 per cwt. higher cash prices and lower feeder cattle prices calculated against last week’s closeouts.
A $1 per cwt rally helped boost cattle feeding profits marginally last week while packers lost a little off their large margins.
Packer margins improved $55 per head last week as Choice beef cutout values gained nearly $4 per cwt and cash cattle prices declined $1 per cwt.
Cattle feeding losses averaged $83 per head last week, while packers recorded $168 per head profits, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker.
While cash cattle prices slipped only modestly, cattle feeders saw margins erode by $86 per head, falling from an average profit of $38 two weeks ago to an average loss of $49 per head last week.
The cash market for fed cattle last week gave some relief to feeders and overall market sentiment in the wake of the prior week’s $5/cwt. decline.
Losses continued to grow for feedyards and the spread between feeder losses and packer profits only widened with a $1.50 per cwt. decline in cash cattle prices last week.
Beef packer continued with a stranglehold on cattle markets last week, buying a few cattle to fill their needs at lower money and keeping operating margins historically high.
The beef cattle industry will receive $5.1 billion of CFAP funding to partially offset 2020 losses due to COVID-19. USDA expects to begin sign-up in early May and distribute payments by late May or early June.