Livestock Markets
Nebraska native Jacob Sebade blends family feedlot tradition with modern technology to give ranchers more “speed to market.”
Tight cattle supplies, delayed herd rebuilding and resilient beef demand point to continued market strength, with economists saying higher cattle price highs in 2026 are still on the table.
The Farm Action co-founder says it’s time for agriculture to face an uncomfortable truth. From cattle to crops, American agriculture must rebuild from the ground up or face a tough reality: U.S. agriculture no longer feeds the world.
With tight supplies and a strong demand, cull cow prices continue to set records.
Secretary Rollins takes decisive action and shuts down cattle, bison and equine trade due to further northward spread of the devastating pest in Mexico.
Chris Swift says the beef industry is in a tiger trap it can’t get out of with a wide basis spread — the cash market is trading considerably higher than the futures.
Following a New World screwworm assessment by USDA staff in Mexico and ongoing conversations between Secretary Rollins and the Mexican Secretary of Agriculture, USDA will start reopening the ports for cattle, bison and equine.
The buyer group, led by an Oklahoma rancher, plans to continue ONSY’s operations, which includes more than 350,000 annually selling through the stockyards.
Embrace market volatility, and figure out how to use it to your advantage during this time of uncertainty, advises commodity broker Brad Kooima
The 2025 fed cattle harvest has run very close to a year ago with the full production weeks averaging 473,000 head, a 1,600-head increase over the same period last year.
The Sterling Marketing Beef Profit Tracker shows current breakeven price in the $170s/cwt compares to $200/cwt for currently placed cattle.
Total beef cattle harvest last week was up 12,000 head from the prior week at 578,000 head, 6,000 head fewer than the same week last year.
Total beef cattle harvest last week was slightly larger than the prior week at 563,000 head, an increase of 2,000 head.
USDA’s latest Cattle Inventory report showed U.S. beef cattle numbers fell to the lowest level in 64 years to start the year. Tight supplies and strong demand could push cattle prices to even higher highs in 2025, but uncertainty is infusing more risk and volatility into the markets.
Live Cattle and Feeder Cattle futures prices have been forced higher as Live Cattle contracts had been lagging negotiated values until recent days.
With no post-holiday wavering, all cattle and beef markets moved higher in the first half of January – setting new record price levels to start the new year.
Now in mid-January, the cattle markets are showing exceptional optimism. Packers were actively bidding to capture spot market needs.
Cow-calf returns vary significantly across producers due to widely variable costs of production, but strong market signals for cow-calf producers to expand the beef cow herd.
Looking back, 2024 was mostly a continuation of the story that has been developing since 2022.
Feeder auction trading is finished for the year with new record prices in 2024.
Calf and feeder cattle prices have been much more active in the past three weeks with two market-moving events, including precipitation in the central states and the temporary closure of the southern border due to screwworms.
Last week’s harvest averaged 100,000 with except of Veteran’s Day holiday. Feeder cattle demand elevated after widespread precipitation throughout much of the winter wheat grazing region.
Cattle harvest was down last week, but carcass weights remain record breaking. Q4 tends to be the period most prone to follow historical seasonal patterns for carcass cutout prices.
Market update for week of Oct. 23 and a look at how carcass weigh and ribeye sizes correlates..
Total beef production is down a scant 0.7 percent so far this year and may end the year equal to year ago levels. Despite this, wholesale and retail beef prices are higher thus far in 2024.
Higher prices means the business now carries more value-at-risk than ever. Producers are encouraged to be increasingly proactive in pursuing measures to ensure that equity remains protected.
The market took a normal seasonal downturn into September following the Labor Day weekend pushing the question of demand and the opportunity for seasonal strength in the fourth quarter to the forefront.