Author: ploewen

Date: January 10th, 2022 All livestock futures under pressure to end the week and cattle futures under pressure for most of the week. The hope coming out of the holidays and into a new year would be full capacity slaughter and cash moving back higher. Cash fed cattle trade steady to slightly weaker though compared to the week previous. TX and KS trade at $138 live while trade in NE still holding a slight premium from $138 to $140 live and $220 on a dressed basis. Slaughter last week for both cattle and hogs well below a year ago. Demand has been strong leading to higher product prices, but slaughter must pick back up to keep slaughter ready inventory from building. Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction…

Date: January 5th, 2022 Mixed day for the Ag futures yesterday with grains sharply higher, cattle sharply lower and lean hogs lower on the nearby contract but all deferred contracts higher for the day. Fats and feeders gapped lower at the open and bottomed out late morning nearly $2 lower for live cattle and over $4 lower for feeders. Very light cash fed cattle so far this week from $138 to $140 live, steady with a week ago. I wouldn’t expect to see much volume until later this week as packers will look to lower bids, especially with futures lower. Good news though that beef prices continue to creep higher and packers are needing inventory in the near term as we get back up to…

Date: January 3rd, 2022 The year wrapped up on fairly light volume last Friday and somewhat quiet trading. Live cattle finished under mild pressure, feeders extended the week’s rally and lean hogs were triple digits lower wiping out gains made earlier in the week. Cash fed cattle trade popping higher this past week though. Trade in the North a firm $5 higher than the week previous at $140 live and $220 to $222 dressed. TX and KS live trade a bit disappointing, only compared to the early week NE trade, coming in at mostly $138 live, still $3 higher than the week previous. For the week, Thursday December 23rd through Friday December 31st, December Live Cattle +$1.85, February +$.07, January Feeder Cattle +$3.42, March +$6.20,…

Date: December 27th, 2021 Livestock futures finished last week steady to higher and triple digits higher week over week. Cash fed cattle trade dropped another $3 last week to $135 live and $216 to $218 dressed. After the close, USDA released its monthly Cattle on Feed report and Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. The Cattle on Feed report was neutral vs. the expectations but slightly bearish overall. Cattle and calves on feed as of December 1st totaled 12.0 million head, just slightly below last year’s inventory. Placements in feedlots during November totaled 1.97 million head, 4% above 2020 and marketings of fed cattle during November totaled 1.87 million head, 5% above a year ago but also with one more business day. The Quarterly Hogs and…

Date: December 20th, 2021 Livestock futures mostly lower last Friday and for the week. Cash fed cattle trade dropped another $2 last week for a top at $138 live in the South, $140 live and $220 dressed in the North. The full range of trade was even worse with TX down to $134 to $136 live. Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary Livestock Weighted Average Report for 12/12/2021 - 12/18/2021 Current Week: 45,864 Last Week: 51,902 Last Year: 27,791 Compared to last week: Feeder steers steady to 4.00 lower. Feeder heifers mostly 2.00-7.00 lower. Demand moderate to good for feeder cattle. Steer calves steady to 2.00 higher. Heifer calves steady to 5.00 lower. Demand moderate for most calves, except light weight calves which sold to good…

Date: December 15th, 2021 Livestock futures lower yesterday as cattle futures traded within Monday’s range and lean hogs extended losses. The next couple week’s trade could be very quiet as we enter the typical, low volume and small range bound holiday trading. Cash fed cattle trade still yet to be established, although early light volume trade in TX yesterday was at $138 live. Packers needs will be less over the next few weeks even though ready supplies are also tighter. The hope is we can at least hold steady values around $140 to wrap up this year. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock Weighted Average Report for 12/13/2021 This Week: 14,695 Last Week: 17,068 Last Year: 10,744 Compared to last week:…

Date: December 8th, 2021 Another mixed day across the Ag sector yesterday as news remains fairly light ahead of Thursday’s USDA supply and demand report. Cattle futures held gains throughout the day but finished a bit softer for the day as lean hogs remained under pressure. The nearby contract actually finished a tick in the green but broke through nearby support levels and into new recent lows earlier in the trading session. Negotiated cash fed cattle trade so far this week limited to the North on light volume at mostly $140 live which is steady with a week ago. Winter Livestock (Tuesday) - La Junta, CO Livestock Weighted Average Report for 12/7/2021 This Week: 7,553 Last Week: 3,375 Last Year: 9,099 Compared with last Tuesday:…

Date: December 7th, 2021 Livestock futures mixed yesterday with cattle markets higher and lean hogs lower to test nearby support levels. Monday’s are typically difficult for livestock markets as live cattle futures await cash fed cattle trade for more direction. On Monday, about 1,000 head traded in the North at $140 live, steady with last week. I would anticipate higher asking prices again this week. Cash hogs continue to slide lower but pork carcass values finished over $2 higher yesterday. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock Weighted Average Report for 12/6/2021 This Week: estimated 18,000 Last Week: 10,817 Last Year: 16,925 Compared to last week: Feeder steers steady to 3.00 higher with instances 7.00 higher. Feeder heifers unevenly steady. Steer calves…

Date: December 1st, 2021 Another sharply lower day for almost all commodities, yes I said all, not just Ag. The only ones higher were lumber, deferred feeders held onto gains as well as the nearby Lean Hogs and Soybean Meal which is now in delivery. The uncertainty of the new CVOID variant continued to impact all markets for the past three trading sessions as both equites and energies were again sharply lower yesterday as well. Something to remember, panic and fear bring on selling and then we ask questions later. Cash feedlot trade only light volume so far this week at $137 to $137.50 live and $218 dressed in the North and $138 to $139 live in the South. These are all above the weighted…

Date: November 29th, 2021 Livestock futures finished mixed last Friday as cattle futures continued higher but lean hogs reversed lower wiping out all the gains made during the week. Negotiated cash feedlot trade jumped sharply higher this past week, $5 to $9 higher than the week previous, with live trade in TX and KS up to $140 and dressed trade in NE up to $220. Weekly export sales for both beef and pork were friendly this past week. Net beef sales were 19,300 MT with an additional 5,800 MT for next year. Actual exports totaled 18,200 MT. Net pork sales for this year and next combined were 33,100 MT and exports were 28,900 MT. For the week, Friday November 19th through Friday November 26th, December…