Fed Cattle
Packers put wheels under cattle to buy themselves time as Southern cattle are hauled to Northern plants.
Northern feeders have experienced considerably more adverse weather and muddy pen conditions than southern yards, contributing to the tightening supply of well-finished cattle.
Regardless of your market segment or marketing method, the increased visibility to premiums and discounts through the cattle contract library provides further guidance as to where the packers assign value.
Feedlot inventories are at their lowest point in 29 months and placements have been lower in 10 of the past 12 months. Here’s what historical data shows about how the trend may evolve in the coming months.
Instability in equity markets proved a drag on futures last week, providing an incentive for feeders to trade on lower bids. Packers will continue to struggle with inventory going forward.
Despite record beef exports in 2022, signs of weakening beef trade were developing late in the year with beef exports down year-over-year in both November and December.
Beef packers show their willingness to rely on their captive supplies as they struggle to hold a lid on rising cattle prices. Tighter supplies in the coming weeks will force their hand.
Cattle feeders are firmly in the driver’s seat as cattle prices continue higher. Contract cattle and commitments to packers are dwindling and won’t last long.
With continuing drought, it is not clear exactly how cattle and beef market timing will develop going forward, but the question is not one of whether beef production will fall, but rather how fast and how much in 2023.
The 2023 bull market entered March with modest gains for fed cattle and some impressive gains for feeder cattle and calves. The spring seasonal rally is likely to extend well into April.
Many ranchers have successfully improved genetic potential for both growth and marbling, yet many simply wean and/or ship calves at a specified time and/or weight, forfeiting much of the value they’ve worked to create.
Cattle feeders continued gaining market leverage this week as prices moved higher and slaughter levels declined.
Data from Performance Livestock Analytics software and competitive grid marketing access from GeneNet helps beef producers market the value of their cattle.
Packers grudgingly bid higher for the week in what was called a light to moderate trade. Cattle feeders were firm sellers as some passed on those higher bids late week.
When cattle diets are changed without an adaptation period or if cattle have sudden access to a new feedstuff, health problems can follow.
Tighter inventories of market-ready cattle are leaving packers little alternative to placing higher bids. Last week’s 5-area average price was the highest in nearly eight years.
A cattle rally is under way and attempts by packers to ignore it are having little effect. Cash cattle prices ticked up as front-end supplies continue to tighten.
From a cattlemen’s perspective fed cattle prices have been “just good enough” since the first of the year, only showing some spark as recently as last week with the nearly $3/cwt. move.
The standoff lasted until late week, but most trade regions saw multiple bidders for fed cattle.
With the opportunity to visit a number of cattle feeding operations and learn a bit about how cattle feeding works in this unique environment, Dr. Derrell Peel of OSU shares his experience from his recent trip to Canada.
Cattle feeders and packers were in a standoff most of the week with cash trading only moderate in all regions. Cattle feeders are in a good position as inventories and carcass weights declining.
Focusing on carcass quality can allow feeder cattle buyers to factor in higher returns based on better-than-projected feedlot performance and/or carcass quality premiums than average.
More Hereford breeders and commercial users of Hereford genetics are discovering the feedlot and carcass performance of their genetics through various American Hereford Association (AHA) programs.
Cattle feeders seem to start each week from behind as packers have utilized their captive supplies perfectly to maintain their margins.
Cash cattle markets traded modestly lower in another week of lackluster activity. Northern regions experienced adverse weather conditions added stress to cattle and reduced weights.
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.
Economies of scale is not a difficult concept, and it is one that certainly does not need our government using it to decide what is fair.
Construction is expected to begin this year for Cattlemen’s Heritage Beef Company, a 2,000-head per day beef processing facility south of the Omaha/Council Bluffs metropolitan area.
Diving into 2023, the much-discussed beef cow herd culling comes home to roost, bringing on a supply challenge for the beef industry.
The new year looks to contrast with last year with noticeably tighter cattle numbers, especially at the feedlot level, driven by previous herd liquidation and sharply lower feeder cattle supplies.