Latest News From Cattle Market Reports and Analysis

Markets: Cash Cattle at Record Highs; COF Up 1%
Markets: Cash Cattle at Record Highs; COF Up 1%

Cattle feeders displayed their market leverage this week as active trading pushed prices to new record highs. Friday’s Cattle on Feed report identified another strong placement increase.

Cattle Imports from Mexico
Cattle Imports from Mexico

Mexico has become one of the major beef import sources for the U.S. as beef trade evolved from simply supplementing deficit beef production in Mexico to bilateral, product specific trade between the two countries.

Markets: Cash Cattle Markets Nearing Historic Highs
Markets: Cash Cattle Markets Nearing Historic Highs

All classes of cattle sold at higher prices for the week and most are at or near record highs. Supplies of all classes remain extremely tight.

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Slaughter Cow Market Soars Fueled by Lean Trimmings Rally

Lean beef trimmings, a key component of ground beef production, have rallied significantly, with the price of 90% lean trimmings quoted over $317 per cwt. the first week of March, an all-time record dating back to 1978.

Mackey: Packers Struggle to Preserve Margins
Mackey: Packers Struggle to Preserve Margins

Beef packers slow harvest lines and scramble for inventory as they attempt to keep a lid on cash prices.

Markets: Cash Cattle Marching Higher
Markets: Cash Cattle Marching Higher

Negotiated cattle prices moved higher again as supplies continue tightening. Packers are caught in significant margin squeeze with marketing leverage continuing to favor cattle feeders.

Markets: Cattle, Wholesale Beef, Futures All Higher
Markets: Cattle, Wholesale Beef, Futures All Higher

All classes of cattle and futures prices moved higher for the week ending March 1. April live cattle closed at the highest level since early November.

Mackey: South Leads the Way Higher, North Trades at Par
Mackey: South Leads the Way Higher, North Trades at Par

Futures markets lend support to cash as packers looked to add inventory ahead of Cattle on Feed report.

Markets: Cattle Rally Again, COF Placements Surprise
Markets: Cattle Rally Again, COF Placements Surprise

Cash cattle posted solid gains this week as futures prices closed the week with four-month highs. Friday’s Cattle on Feed report met expectations with the exception of placements, which were higher than anticipated.

Markets: January Thaw Delivers Price Rally
Markets: January Thaw Delivers Price Rally

The January thaw across most of the cattle feeding regions helped spur the year's first weekly gains for market-ready cattle. The rally was noticed by traders in Chicago as futures markets posted 10-week highs.

Missouri Show-Me-Select Heifer Prices Up 20%
Missouri Show-Me-Select Heifer Prices Up 20%

Despite a state-wide drought and market challenges into fall, average prices for Show-Me-Select heifers posted healthy prices at six sanctioned sale locations.

Mackey: Feeders, Packers Look to Better Days Ahead
Mackey: Feeders, Packers Look to Better Days Ahead

Negotiated cash trade finished the week in a standoff with few sales and little price movement. Feeders and packers both look to benefit from improving winter weather and pen conditions this week.

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CAB Insider: Carcass Weights to Plunge, Quality to Remain

The onset of severe cold temperatures and snow in a broad spectrum of cattle feeding regions will pull fed cattle production down. Beyond the reduced weekly slaughter head counts, carcass weights are set to plunge.

Mackey: Weather Produces a Disappointing Harvest
Mackey: Weather Produces a Disappointing Harvest

Severe winter weather across cattle feeding country reduced weekly harvest and damaged feeding performance. Cattle feeders will seek higher prices this week.

Markets: Cattle Steady to Softer in Weather Trade
Markets: Cattle Steady to Softer in Weather Trade

Brutal winter weather disrupted cattle markets and significantly curtailed cattle harvest in western Kansas. Cash cattle trades were steady to lower while wholesale beef prices posted a significant rally.

Nevil Speer
Speer: LRP Sense and Nonsense

There remains a lot of noise around the issue of LRPs in the cattle markets. That was best described by one of my readers last week: “[most of the critics] don’t even understand the facts, let alone the myths.”

Nalivka: The Economics of Carcass Weights
Nalivka: The Economics of Carcass Weights

Economics and the impact on weights – both longer-term and decisions based on short term factors will play an important part in determining beef production in 2024.

Cull Cow and Beef Prices Bounce Higher
Cull Cow and Beef Prices Bounce Higher

After reaching a peak price in August, cull cow and bull prices moved higher to end the year on a positive note.

Mackey: Weather Provides Motivation to Settle for Steady
Mackey: Weather Provides Motivation to Settle for Steady

A year ago feeders were concerned about weathered cattle and tough pen conditions and how at times it would be the motivation for sellers to take the market.  It’s eerie how not much has changed in that sense.

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Markets: Cattle Higher for Third Consecutive Week

Cash fed cattle prices traded at higher prices the first week of the New Year despite a significant decline for wholesale beef prices.

Markets: Cash Cattle Finish 2023 Moving Higher
Markets: Cash Cattle Finish 2023 Moving Higher

Feedyards saw higher cash cattle bids for the second consecutive week as the market closed the year on an upswing. Futures prices finished the week lower.

Mackey: Feeders Push the Tide Higher Throughout Week
Mackey: Feeders Push the Tide Higher Throughout Week

Multiple packers participated last week in a market that turned higher for the first time since Halloween.

Wrapping up Christmas Presents and Cattle Markets
Wrapping up Christmas Presents and Cattle Markets

December's Cattle on Feed showed December feedlot inventories were 102.7 percent of last year. Texas on feed number was up 4% and Kansas was up 7%.

Cash Cattle Higher for First Time Since Halloween; COF up 2%
Cash Cattle Higher for First Time Since Halloween; COF up 2%

Cattle traded in moderate volumes at higher prices, posting the first weekly gains in more than six weeks. USDA's Cattle on Feed total was 2% higher.

Peel: Beef Cow Slaughter and Herd Culling
Peel: Beef Cow Slaughter and Herd Culling

The pool of bred beef heifers is likely to remain low going into 2024, keeping the prospects of beef cow herd growth minimal in the coming year.

Mackey: Feeders Win Late-Week Battle
Mackey: Feeders Win Late-Week Battle

Increased packer margins in recent weeks has encouraged a quicker chain speed. That speed likely will not be supported through the end of the year with two Holiday shortened weeks.

Nevil Speer
Speer: LRP Options Action

LRPs and options are essential risk management tools, but coffee shop talk suggests LRPs are driving the cash market lower. Let's examine the data to keep the discussion measured and objective.

Profit Tracker: Cattle Losses Reach Triple Digits
Profit Tracker: Cattle Losses Reach Triple Digits

Cattle feeding margins fell deeper into the red while packer losses doubled from the prior week. Pork producer margins have now printed red every week for the past year.

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Peel : Beef Trade Reacts as Expected

Under current market conditions beef exports are expected to decrease and beef imports should increase...exactly the outcome observed thus far in 2023, says economist Derrell Peel.

Markets: Cash Cattle Prices Continue Retreat
Markets: Cash Cattle Prices Continue Retreat

Cash cattle and wholesale beef prices continued their fourth quarter retreat and record heavy carcass weights suggest cattle feeders have lost marketing leverage.

CAB Insider: Carcass Weights Hit Record Highs
CAB Insider: Carcass Weights Hit Record Highs

Few things in cattle market trends are entirely predictable but the fact that carcass weights peak in November is as close to a sure bet as one could identify.

Nevil Speer
Speer: Stalking the LRP Smoke Monster

Some blame the recent rout in the futures markets on LRP (Livestock Revenue Protection), a claim that is wholly unsubstantiated. A look at the data confirms LRP blame really is a smoke monster. 

Mackey: Futures Rout Gives Packers Cheaper Inventory
Mackey: Futures Rout Gives Packers Cheaper Inventory

Declining cattle futures prices continue to pressure cash prices. The cheaper inventories are working to pad the packer's pocket as evidenced by a few plants operating on Saturdays.

Markets: Cattle Lower as Fundamentals Weaken
Markets: Cattle Lower as Fundamentals Weaken

Market-ready cattle prices have rolled back $10 per cwt. since the end of October and average carcass weights have increased to all-time highs, a sign feedlots are not as current as previously expected.

Nevil Speer
Speer: Bashing The Speculator

There seems a belief that speculators – either too many or not quite enough – are solely responsible for driving the market one direction or another. But bashing speculators is what people do who don’t like the price.

Nevil Speer
Speer: Don’t Try This At Home

Cattle futures markets have come under criticism lately for their volatility. A common theme is there are "too many shorts" or "too many longs." That ignores the fundamental fact that futures markets must come in pairs.

Nevil Speer
Speer: Discernment Is Paramount

A snowballing effect from several factors has led to the present market flush in cattle futures and provides a stark contrast between emotion and factfulness.

Peel: Cattle Markets Now and Later
Peel: Cattle Markets Now and Later

Reported national feeder cattle volumes (auction, direct and video/internet) are up 5.6% year-over-year since Labor Day, with the majority in September which contributed to the large September feedlot placements.

Cash Sharply Lower Following Futures Correction
Cash Sharply Lower Following Futures Correction

Cash cattle prices decline 3% for the week as December Live Cattle futures hit a five-month low and nearby feeder futures post seven-month low.

CAB Insider: Middle Meats and Supply Driving Fourth Quarter Spreads
CAB Insider: Middle Meats and Supply Driving Fourth Quarter Spreads

Cash fed cattle prices have increased 4.8% during the month of November in the past five years, yet carcass cutout values have begun the month in a bit of defensive pattern.

Mackey: Steady Leaves Many Cattle on Showlists
Mackey: Steady Leaves Many Cattle on Showlists

Last week saw several feedyards pass on steady bids from packers. Cattle feeders are counting on declining numbers of Choice carcasses to bring packers back with higher bids.

Demand Remains Key to High Cattle Prices
Demand Remains Key to High Cattle Prices

Beef demand has been remarkably robust through many shocks in recent years and continues to surprise and impress despite the nervousness of the industry to the challenges facing consumers.

Markets: Cattle Steady in Light Trade, Futures Post Weekly Gains
Markets: Cattle Steady in Light Trade, Futures Post Weekly Gains

Cash trade was light as many cattle feeders passed on steady bids. Feeder cattle and calves traded mixed. Live and feeder futures contracts posted weekly gains.

Markets: Feeder Cattle and Calves Under Pressure, Fed Cattle Weaker
Markets: Feeder Cattle and Calves Under Pressure, Fed Cattle Weaker

Cattle prices were weaker on the week with volatility in the futures markets and the season's first cold spell on the way. Wholesale beef prices traded higher seasonally.

John Nalivka
Nalivka: Squaring the Oct. 1 Feedlot Inventory with Total Cattle Numbers

USDA's recent October 1, 2023, Cattle on Feed report offered a few surprising numbers. How does that report square up with previously released USDA data?

Mackey: Packers Seeking Inventory Pushes Market Higher
Mackey: Packers Seeking Inventory Pushes Market Higher

Packers were forced to add to their inventory and pushed prices $2 higher last week. The surprises in the Cattle on Feed report may offer a reason to push prices lower, yet feedyards maintain the upper hand.

Cash Cattle Higher in All Regions, COF 1% Higher
Cash Cattle Higher in All Regions, COF 1% Higher

Cattle feeders saw $1 to $2 gains in all regions during the week, but a struggling futures market and an unfriendly placement number in Friday's Cattle on Feed report may drag on cash prices in the short-term.

Cattle Producers Livestock Auction
Money On The Table: Top 9 Factors That Influence Cattle Price on Sale Day

For cow-calf producers, fall is often a time for preconditioning, weaning and marketing calves. While prices will likely be towards the top end this year, could you still be leaving money on the table?

Slow Herd Rebuilding, Expectations of Cattle On Feed Lower
Slow Herd Rebuilding, Expectations of Cattle On Feed Lower

With cattle prices strong, serious inventory issues continue as the USDA is set to release the newest cattle on feed report on Oct. 20. Here's what experts are saying about the upcoming report and herd expansion.

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Peel: The Ground Beef Market Gets Squeezed

Ground beef is the inexpensive alternative consumers turn to when prices rise. However, the overall decline in beef production means that ground beef supplies will be smaller and prices higher going forward.