Latest News From Marketing-Communications

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Market Highlights: Demand for Quality Beef Driving up Prices

Beef prices are on a rally and the higher the quality the larger thee price spread from the previous week.

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Cattle Outlook: U.S. Beef Exports Down

U.S. beef exports were down 5.3% in April compared to a year earlier.

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Adding Value to 2016 Calves

A variety of production and marketing practices are available to help cow-calf producers enhance calf values.  Though these practices are not new, many are still adopted by only a small percentage of producers. The following summarizes several surveys and feeder cattle pricing studies.

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In The Cattle Markets: Macroeconomic Data and Cattle Markets

Despite meager GDP growth and a higher inflation rate, consumers appeared to be more optimistic about their financial situation. 

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Livestock Prices Push Down Ag Economy Index in May

Concerns about livestock prices took some air out of the Purdue/CME Ag Economy Barometer, pushing the new index down to 97 in May from April’s 106.

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Profit Tracker: Gaining Momentum

A cash market rally helped add $62 per head to feedyard margins last week, ending with total average profits of $212 per head, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker. 

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Cattle Outlook: Economy Slowing Down

Job growth has continued to drop the past few months, a sign that consumer beef demand could be in trouble.

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Profit Tracker: Profits Remain Above $150

Feedyard margins remained about $150 per head last week despite a $6 per cwt. retreat in cash cattle prices. 

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Market Highlights: Tough Questions on Cattle Prices

Will prices continue to decline, or will they trade steady or find support between May and October? That is a tough question at this point, but it is hard to imagine further significant declines at this time. 

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Cattle Outlook: Pasture Conditions Improve

Just 8% of U.S. pastures are in poor to very poor condition, according to USDA. It is a 2% improvement from last year.

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In The Cattle Markets: April Feedlot Placements Surprise

The latest numbers in the Cattle on Feed report were quite surprising, particularly with regard to placements. 

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Cattle on Feed and Forage Conditions Improving

Cattle on feed continues to increase, while drought conditions go away in the Northern and Southern Plains.

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Profit Tracker: Profits Exceed $200

Cattle feeders turned a tidy profit last week despite a $2 retreat in cash cattle prices. 

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Market Highlights: Cow Herd Expansion Slowing

It seems certain that herd expansion has slowed to a snail’s pace compared to one year ago, but from a historical standard, expansion is likely still moving at a fairly rapid clip.

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Cattle Outlook: 1.3% More Cattle on Feed Than a Year Ago

USDA's May Cattle on Feed report said there were 1.3% more cattle on feed than a year ago. April placements were up a surprising 7.5% and April marketings were up 1.2%.

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Cheap Beef Is Here for Summer Burgers and $1 Taco Bell Burritos

Retail ground-beef prices fall to lowest in two years and money managers are boosting bets on a rally for cattle futures.

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Stock Market Jitters Could Infect Cattle Prices

There’s a close relationship between the two markets, explains Mark Gold, Top Third Ag Marketing. Meanwhile, hog producers should look to buy puts if prices continue to climb on demand from China.

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Beef Bounces Back

Beef and cattle prices bounced back sharply in the past ten days. 

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Market Highlights: Futures Help Cattle Prices

Market ready cattle prices were spurred by a relatively strong futures market and a strengthening in wholesale beef prices.

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Profit Tracker: Eureka!

Cattle feeders finally found profitability last week after cattle markets posted a $6 to $7 per cwt. rally. 

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Cattle Outlook: More Meat Means Lower Prices

USDA's May WASDE is predicting 4.7% more beef this year than last and 4.0% more beef in 2017 than this year. 

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Profit Tracker: Nearing Break Even

Feedyards are as close to breaking even on a cash basis as they’ve been during any point in the past 18 months. 

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Market Highlights: Cattle Price Pressure Not a Bad Thing

The recent price pressure is not necessarily a bad thing as it may benefit packers and feedlots alike down the road. 

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More Beef Now, Slower Increase Later

Recent changes in beef production have implications for the timing and possibly for total beef production for 2016. 

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When Will Cattle Finishing Be Profitable Again?

Monthly fed cattle net returns have been negative since December 2014. A few months ago, it appeared that we would climb above breakeven this spring. However, that was before the recent drop in fed cattle prices. 

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Cattle Outlook: Foreign Demand for U.S. Beef is Down

Foreign demand for U.S. beef was down 13.2% in 2015 and has been down in two of the first three months of 2016.

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In The Cattle Markets: Beef Production Surges in April

Steer and heifer slaughter in April 2016 was up an estimated 1.8 percent over the year before.

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Falling Cattle Prices, Where is the Bottom?

Cattle prices have had a rough spring. After peaking in late 2014 and early 2015, prices have been adjusting downward from very lofty peaks.

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Profit Tracker: Running Red

Most analysts expected feedyards to be near breakeven by the time the calendar turned to May. May is here and the underperforming cash fed cattle market has kept feedyards struggling.

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Market Highlights: Cattle and Beef Price Drop

The Choice cutout was $212.05 down $0.45 from Thursday and down $8.45 from last Friday, while fed cattle trade was $2 to $3 lower than a week ago on a live basis.

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What's Worse Than no Feeder Cattle Futures?

Feeder futures have become increasingly volatile in ways that often appear unrelated to market fundamentals. 

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Cattle Outlook: Beef Cold Storage Down

There were 467 million pounds of beef in cold storage at the end of March. That was 5% less than the month before and 3% less than a year earlier. 

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Senate Asks GAO to Investigate 2015 Cattle Collapse

What caused last year’s cattle price collapse? Washington could have some answers after an investigation of why cattle prices fell 15.1%in the last half of 2015. 

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Profit Tracker: Another Retreat

Cash fed cattle prices retreated $7.77 per cwt. last week. As a result, closeouts added another $75 of red ink. 

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Market Highlights: Time to Get Savvy Selling Cattle

Producers are going to have to be a little more savvy in marketing calves and feeder cattle since forward pricing opportunities appear limited.

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Cattle On Feed: Feedyards Increasing Capacity, Herd Expansion Slows Down

It appears herd expansion has tapered off as feedlots start to increase inventories with heifers.

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Cattle Outlook: Marketings Up 7.1%

USDA's April Cattle on Feed report said placements were up 4.6% in March and marketings were up 7.1%. 

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Is Time Running out on Potential for Stronger Cattle Prices?

Spring time marches on: Prospective Plantings was quite the surprise, a major moisture event causes flooding in the southern plains with concerns of excess up through Nebraska and generous needed snowfall in Colorado, and the deadline for filing your income taxes passes.

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Beef Cattle Producers Should Seek Every Pound of Gain Possible

In a high or low cattle market environment, capturing the most pounds per calf affects a producer’s bottom line, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist.

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Profit Tracker: Shifting Momentum

Cash cattle prices may have been stuck in neutral last week, but cattle feeders saw an impressive gain in margins as the price of feeder cattle factored into closeouts dropped significantly. 

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Market Highlights: Feedlots Sweating Bullets

There was little change in finished cattle prices this week which likely has feedlot managers sweating bullets.

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Global Meat Market Overview

Beef production is forecast at 59.0 MMT in 2016, 23 percent of total meat production. 

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Cattle Outlook: USDA Raises Estimation of 2016 U.S. Beef Production

More beef and lower prices should be positive for U.S. international trade. 

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In the Cattle Markets: Corn and Soybean Acreage Sets the Markets Tone

The plantings report revealed that U.S. producers intend to plant 93.601 million acres of corn this summer, up 6 percent from last year’s 87.999 million acres and more than 2.6 million acres higher than even the highest trade estimate.

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Profit Tracker: Stuck In Red

Cattle feeders generally expected margins to be much better by now. An anticipated spring rally that could have erased a lot of red ink has failed to materialize, leaving feedyard closeouts stuck in neutral with near $200 losses.

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Market Highlights: Volatility Still in Cattle Markets

The gains today and tomorrow could disappear by the next morning.

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Cattle Outlook: Beef Exports Continue to Sink

Less beef was shipped to Mexico, Canada and Philippines than last year.

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Profit Tracker: Same Old Story

Cattle feeding margins gained only modestly, despite the fact feeder cattle factored into closeouts were $40 per head less than the previous week. 

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In the Cattle Markets: Livestock Loss to Fires

While the adverse impact on those directly affected is certainly real in both financial and emotional ways, it is also important to step back and examine any broader, cattle market impacts.