Morning Ag Markets – Pete Loewen
Well, it took until late in the day to get it done, but Mother Nature dropping the hammer on feedlot country last week with rain and snow finally forced beef packers to pay up significantly for cash cattle. The trade two weeks ago was $119 in the Southern Plains. Friday’s trade gained $4 over that previous week, trading at $122-$123 in Kansas and mostly $123 with a few up to $124 in Texas. Nebraska traded $123 live and $195 dressed. The best part of that cash rally is that last year’s final week was trading at the same $123 price, meaning the same value for cash despite 2018 total beef production being up exponentially versus 2017’s number. Granted, without the weather there’s no way it…