Author: ploewen

Big day for the hogs on Monday in reaction to Friday’s bullish Hog and Pig report data. Total inventory numbers came in 4% below last year, breeding herd numbers were down 2% and market hog numbers were down 4%. Adding a little more spice to the mix, summer farrowings were down 7% and 2nd intentions for Sep-Nov were down 4%. That full gamut of friendly news resulted in $4+ higher closes across most contract months with the only exceptions to that being the front month October and a couple of deep deferreds. Contrary to the hog reports bullish numbers, COF data was mildly bearish versus the expectations and hogs didn’t provide any spillover into the cattle futures. The live cattle closed mildly weaker and with…

Date: September 27th, 2021 Livestock futures were mixed again last Friday. Cattle futures continue to chop sideways as lean hogs were triple digits higher for week and pork prices held gains. Cash fed cattle trade steady in the South at $123 to $124 live while trade in the North was a little weaker at $123 to $124 live and $194 to $198 dressed. USDA Cattle on Feed report after the close was neutral to slightly bearish. Cattle on feed totaled 11.2 million head as of September 1, 2021 which was in line with expectations, 1% below last year. Placements in feedlots during August totaled 2.10 million head, 2% above a year ago with expectations for 1% lower. Marketings of fed cattle during August totaled 1.89…

Date: September 22nd, 2021 The massive selloff Monday showed little follow through yesterday across all markets with livestock and grain futures quietly mixed and equities and energies mostly steady to higher. Still uncertainty swirling on the Chinese economy which provided some pressure on lean hogs. Cattle futures trading around $1 on both sides of unchanged. Cash feedlot trade started in the North on light volume at $124 to $126.50 and continues to hold steady. Early morning reports indicating KS and TX trade starting at $124 today, remaining steady, but NE dressed trade at $198 which is $2 lower than last week. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock Weighted Average Report for 9/20/2021 This Week: 6,687 Last Week: 8,759 Last Year: 5,559…

Date: September 20th, 2021 Livestock futures finished last week mixed but did rebound from sharp losses and new recent lows to start the week. Cash fed cattle trade last week steady to slightly lower on less volume. Trade in the South at $123 to $124 live. In the North, trade from $123 to $125 and $196 to $200 on a dressed basis. Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary Livestock Weighted Average Report for 9/12/2021 - 9/18/2021 Total Receipts Current Week: 32,873 Previous Week: 14,358 Last Year: 33,158 Compared to last week's light test: Feeder steers sold 1.00-4.00 lower. Feeder heifers 5.00-10.00 lower. Demand moderate for feeder cattle. Cattle futures continue to lag especially on the feeder side. Slaughter cattle cash prices held mainly steady, however USDA's…

Date: September 15th, 2021 A partial Turnaround Tuesday with cattle futures triple digits higher and wheat leading the grains with double digit gains. The JBS Grand Island, NE beef processing plant, 6,000 head per day capacity, fire on Sunday only shut down the plant for a day which caused cattle futures to gap lower Monday and reverse higher yesterday. Only a few hundred head of fed cattle cash traded so far this week. TX cash pool yesterday at $124 live which is steady with a week ago but in the North, $196 dressed, not a good start as that is $2 lower than the bottom of last week’s range. Hog futures continued to tumble in the U.S. and in China with a new low yesterday…

As if the cattle market didn’t already have enough problems with a long string of daily futures losses and terrible looking chart technicals, apparently the rendering facilities at the JBS Grand Island beef plant caught fire Sunday night and they shut down their kill yesterday as a result. They were calling it a five-alarm fire, but as of late yesterday there were reports saying the fire was contained in an area that shouldn’t affect slaughter or fab, so shifts should resume quickly. Hopefully that’s the case, because it’s a 6000/hd/day plant and that took what might have been a 120k head national federally inspected kill tally from yesterday and made it 114k. In all honesty, cattle futures didn’t act as terrible as I thought they…

Date: September 13th, 2021 Livestock futures continued lower last week with product prices lower and new recent lows for futures triggering more technical selling. Cash fed cattle trade in the South started at $124 midweek but was followed up by more volume at $123 on Thursday. This should be about even with the week’s previous weighted average. In the North, $124 to $127 live and $198 to $203 dressed, $5 lower to $2 higher than the previous week’s weighted average price. Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary Livestock Weighted Average Report for 9/5/2021 - 9/11/2021 Total Receipts Current Week: 14,358 Previous Week: 26,638 Last Year: 10,537 Compared to last week: Numbers lightly tested as some sales closed (Oklahoma City, OKC West Cow sale, and Tulsa) for…

Date: September 8th, 2021 Livestock futures finished yesterday mostly triple digits lower, all grains lower, along with equites, energies and precious metals. Cattle futures did open higher yesterday with news that Brazil had confirmed two cases of atypical mad cow disease and shut down exports for at least 10 days. Beef and pork prices continuing lower providing some of the pressure but in general, yesterday’s trade looked like a typical Monday of the past few weeks just falling on Tuesday with markets coming out the 3-day holiday weekend. Uncertainty is a key term quoted which typically leads to a bearish undertone with COVID still spreading and the recent turmoil in Afghanistan. Ozarks Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle - West Plains, MO Livestock Weighted Average Report for…

Date: September 7th, 2021 Cattle futures ended last week triple digits lower while hogs suffered only minor losses. Negotiated cash fed cattle trade for the week was light and spread out last week but held steady to $1 higher. KS and TX trade from $123 to $124 with trade in the North ranging from $125 to $126 live and $200 to $208 dressed. Both beef and pork were under pressure last week as we close out the summer grilling season. Brazil reported 2 cases of atypical mad cow disease last week and suspended beef exports for at least 10 days. It was found in separate packing plants in two different states but again both were atypical which are lower risk, natural forming in older cows…

Date: September 1st, 2021 Triple digit losses across the livestock futures, corn and soybeans held losses but at least came back from double digits lower and wheat held near unchanged yesterday. Honestly it appears the most influential market mover yesterday was the end of the month position squaring. New recent lows hit for live cattle, feeder cattle and corn yesterday but fundamental news was light. Cash fed cattle trade light so far this week with trade in the North reported at $128 live, steady with top end from a week ago. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock Weighted Average Report for 8/30/2021 This Week: 7,187 Last Week: 5,186 Last Year: 9,416 Compared to last week: Feeder steers and heifers unevenly steady.…