Feedyard
Last week only two days of harvest were considered cash trade. This lack of cash trade should give a clear indication that the corporate or “turn in” cattle are influencing the quick decline in the market.
Since the beginning of March, any year-over-year comparison of cattle slaughter and feedlot inventory flow has been interesting given the distortions in the flow of cattle resulting from COVID plant slowdowns last year
Cash fed cattle prices were lower $1 to $2/cwt. last week, arriving at an average just below $121/cwt. Futures weakness brought prices lower, despite the severe upward trajectory of carcass cutout values.
Many cattle feeders never received a bid on cattle last week, and the ones that did saw a bid one to three dollars lower than the week before.
April’s USDA Cattle on Feed report requires careful interpretation. The typical year-to-year comparisons are mostly meaningless because of the pandemic disruptions affecting markets one year ago.
One Kansas packing plant sat idle half the week for maintenance while others were reluctant bidders, leaving feeders with more cattle than available shackle space.
NCBA endorsed the Haulers of Agriculture and Livestock Safety (HAULS) Act of 2021. Introduced in the House by Rep. Rose and Rep. Soto, the bipartisan bill would deliver much-needed flexibility for livestock haulers.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis has effectively hung a “welcome” sign out encouraging radical activist groups to make mischief in his state and torment ranchers. The first salvo is called the PAUSE Act.
The spring rally in negotiated cash cattle prices continued last week as trade in the South developed early in the week with packers more aggressive than in recent weeks.
Beef exports have evolved significantly in a very dynamic environment of global politics and trade policies; direct and indirect impacts of animal disease outbreaks; and growing beef preferences and consumption.
Thanks to early adoption of innovative grazing practices combined with advances in cattle breeding and nutrition, U.S. producers have already employed many of the suggested practices the study suggests employing.
If the 2019 ratio between wholesale beef prices and cash fed cattle prices existed today, cash cattle prices would be $136 per cwt. That would amount to an additional $252 for a 1,400-pound fed steer.
Stocker and feeder cattle sold higher at auctions last week, but pressure on prices may develop as a result of the the WASDE report which projects smaller corn and soybean acres and higher grains prices.
Cash cattle prices in all regions saw higher prices for the second consecutive week as packers found tightening supplies of market-ready cattle.
USDA-NASS released two reports last week that added more fuel to red-hot grain and oilseed markets. The information about current and future corn markets has significant implications for cattle markets.
Cattlemen joining a March webinar hosted by the Certified Angus Beef ® brand learned how to understand beef carcass value and more while discovering the sources of premiums they earn for their best cattle.
The last six weeks of winter produced a sideways trade in cash cattle with little. The first week of spring saw changing attitudes and packers willing to take on more volume with prices from $1 to $3 higher.
Resilient Biotics, a North-Carolina-based startup, has been named the winner of the 2021 Beef Alliance Startup Challenge and has earned a chance to conduct a pilot with a Beef Alliance member company.
Fed cattle prices have not put together any sort of spring rally with cash markets trading in a narrow range for several weeks, but there is considerable optimism beginning in the second quarter of the year.
Cash cattle markets carried a firmer tone most of the week but hopes for solid price gains were dashed by two days of declining futures prices. USDA’s Cattle on Feed report was consistent with trade estimates.
The first hint of green grass was evident throughout much of the Midwest last week, and moisture across the High Plains was welcome with warmer weather on the way. Demand for grass cattle was high.
Cattlemen experienced a wide variety of weather across the Central Plains and mountain states last week, bringing much-needed moisture along with some unwelcome cold temperatures.
Cash fed cattle traded at steady money for a sixth consecutive week. A late-winter storm brought some much-needed moisture to the High Plains.
The calendar still read January the last time cattle prices saw an advance. Cattle feeders believed they were gaining market leverage and demand might soon spike. Instead, cattle finished a sixth week trading steady.
The benefits of protein as part of a healthy adult diet was drawn from checkoff-funded research conducted by North Dakota State University and presented to dieticians and nutritionists at a recent symposium.
The CME Group has begun publishing a Boxed Beef Index, a new pricing tool that tracks daily value further down the supply chain, focusing on the prices paid for Choice and Select cuts of beef.
For the second consecutive week, feeder cattle auction receipts increased substantially following February’s storms. Prices, however, declined again for the second week as demand was called moderate to good.
There appeared to be more cattle trade than what we have seen for several weeks, but with only one or two packers needing cattle it was difficult for feeders to push the market higher.
Proposed legislation that is perceived to make markets work better and solve a problem often has the opposite effect, argues Sterling Marketing president John Nalivka.
USDA’s Animal Health Monitoring System (NAHMS) is conducting a national study focusing on cattle health and management in U.S. feedlots with at least 50 head.