Cattle and hog feeders find dramatically lower feed costs compared to last year with higher live anumal sales prices. Beef packers continue to struggle with negative margins.
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.
The first system to make feeding recommendations via artificial intelligence (AI) and machine vision has been announced by Precision Livestock Technologies.
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.
A mid-January deep-freeze failed to deliver any bounce to cattle markets as packers appear flush with formula and contracted inventories. Friday's Cattle on Feed report fell within expectations.
Technology and robust data management will allow more cattlemen and smaller processors access to USDA graders to remotely assign official quality grades for beef carcasses, providing an opportunity to increase value.
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.
Severe winter weather across cattle feeding country reduced weekly harvest and damaged feeding performance. Cattle feeders will seek higher prices this week.
Winter weather dominated livestock markets the second full week of the year with slowing harvest and transportation. Cattle and hog prices were steady and margins improved modestly, yet losses remain significant.
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.
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.
The beef market is set to rapidly adjust to changes in consumer buying habits. This removes demand pressure from ribs and tenderloins, realigning the contribution of those cuts to a smaller percentage of carcass value.
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.
LRP insurance is straightforward, versatile, and makes risk management readily accessible to producers. And that’s more important than ever; record prices translate to heightened equity risk.
The Grinch is writing closeouts ahead of the holidays as cattle and hog profit margins tumble to their lowest point since the summer of 2020, just months into the COVID pandemic.
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.
Futures markets posted solid gains for the week, but cattle feeders continued to lose marketing leverage as cash prices declined a sixth consecutive week.
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.
Four grants have been awarded by ICASA totaling roughly $1.15 million to identify why liver abscesses occur and develop diagnostic tools to enable informed decision-making to treat the condition.
Cash cattle and wholesale beef prices continued their fourth quarter retreat and record heavy carcass weights suggest cattle feeders have lost marketing leverage.
Cattle feeders and beef packers both printed closeouts with red ink last week, slight advantage packers. Pork producers also operated underwater but pork packers saw improving margins.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Rib and tenderloins are pricing near their annual highs, but a look at annual price trends across the beef carcass shows increasing contributions to CAB premiums from both ends of the carcass.
Light cattle sales volumes were recorded in all regions during Thanksgiving week with cash prices generally $1 lower than the previous week, marking the fourth consecutive week with lower cash prices.
A combination of factors has contributed to increasing feedlot placements the past two months, including drought and increasing imports. But biggest factor is likely that producers are taking advantage of strong prices.
Friday’s COF placement numbers provided a friendly lean to a market that has suffered consecutive weeks of falling futures and lower cash bids. Sellers hope to leverage the short week ahead with higher asking prices.
Prices for market-ready cattle have tumbled $7 to $8 per cwt. since the beginning of the month even as supplies remain relatively tight. Volatility continues in the futures market.
Using cutting-edge artificial intelligence and sensor technologies, Oklahoma State University researchers have embarked on a groundbreaking project aimed at studying stress in cattle.
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.
Beef’s critics see an industry that is corrupt and/or broken with NCBA and packers padding their pockets. The facts tell a different story. Beef is winning the marketplace…and it’s not even close.
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.
Shifting market dynamics are most succinctly summarized through two factors, fewer cattle and higher prices, that will further entrench themselves in near term trends.
Despite ever smaller feeder cattle supplies, feedlot inventories have temporarily halted the slow decline of the last year with the September surge in placements.
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.
Prices for day-old beef-X-dairy (BXD) calves are often surprisingly high. But what used to be a highly discounted after-thought (straight dairy calves) is rapidly transforming into a meaningful source of production.
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.
