Author: ploewen

Another wild ride of ups and downs to start the week in the corn market resulted in a wild ride and broad range of trade in the feeder cattle futures as well. You couldn’t tell it by the closes though, because the settle was mixed from mildly higher to mildly lower on the front five months in feeders and up around $1 in the January and deeper deferreds. Live cattle were lower on the front two and higher on the back end and actually a little ugly looking on the now front month June contract that closed more than $1 lower, along with being $3.70 discount to the top end of last week’s Southern Plains cash. The national feeder and stocker cattle summary that comes…

Date: May 3rd, 2021 Livestock futures mixed with feeders at the mercy of corn futures again last Friday. We started trading higher until corn got a bid and raced into new highs which caused feeders to finish triple digits lower. April live cattle expired on Friday down over $3 at $116 with all other live cattle contracts holding decent gains. Lean hogs have been whipsawing back and forth off technical trading this past week. Looking at the June contract specifically, a gap higher move on Wednesday to finish back above $109, then triple digits lower to fill the gap on Thursday, to Friday’s lock limit $3 higher. Negotiated cash fed cattle last week selling nationwide for mostly $118 to $120 live and $191 on a…

Date: April 30th, 2021 Cattle futures held gains yesterday as lean hogs were under pressure filling the gap left from a couple days ago. The selling in the hog futures came from hitting nearby technical resistance, fundamentals are still friendly. Corn jockeyed back and forth allowing feeder cattle futures then fats to find buying support. Cash feedlot trade picked up midweek mostly at $118 to $119 live in the South and $119 to $120 live along with dressed trade ranging from $188 to $195, mostly $190 to $191, in the North. These are all steady to $2 lower than last week’s trade. Farmers and Ranchers Livestock Commission Co. - Salina, KS Livestock Weighted Average Report for 4/29/2021 This Week: 2,673 Last Week: 2,561 Last Year:…

Date: April 28th, 2021 Livestock futures mixed on Tuesday. Cattle futures showing a reversal higher now on the charts as lean hogs hold the long term higher trend. Small volume cash feedlot trade at steady to lower in KS and NE so far this week at $118 to $120 live and $190 on a dressed basis. Higher beef and pork and robust domestic and export demand continue to be the supportive factors. Higher feed costs of course providing the most pressure. Ozarks Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle - West Plains, MO Livestock Weighted Average Report for 4/27/2021 This Week: 2,413 Last Week: 2,685 Last Year: 2,941 Compared to last week, steer calves traded 5.00-10.00 lower while heifer calves traded 3.00-6.00 lower. Too few yearlings to adequately…

Date: April 19th, 2021 Livestock futures were under pressure most of last week. Cattle futures hit new recent highs the week prior and lean hogs new contract and multi-year highs but follow through was nonexistent for all this past week. I wouldn’t say fundamental news was very impactful, but there are concerns about the size of China’s hog herd due to new outbreaks of ASF and of course COVID-19 is still a major concern in many parts of the world. Beef prices were steady to higher this past week along with mixed cash feedlot trade. Live trade from $120 to $124 and dressed trade from $194 to $196 was in the same range of the week previous, $1 off the top end of trade for…

Date: April 14th, 2021 Cattle futures under pressure yesterday as lean hogs held steady. Feeders hit the hardest, down $2+ at the close after holding $1 losses for most of the day. New contract highs in corn providing pressure. It also hasn’t helped that after fats rallied sharply for 3 weeks we now face a third consecutive day of losses. Beef prices mixed to lower yesterday. Cash feedlot trade not going yet and likely to be slow as last week was a very large sales volume. Showlists are large again this week and early asking prices higher. Overall the fundamental trend is still higher with grilling season almost here and COVID restrictions easing across most of the country has cases continue to trend lower domestically…

Date: April 12th, 2021 Cattle futures ended the week under pressure but still held week over week gains. Lean hogs continued to add value and hit new contract highs. Supplies of slaughter ready cattle are tightening, especially in the North, as packers paid $3 to $8 higher than the previous week. Cash feedlot trade done primarily midweek with cattle in Texas and Kansas selling at $120-122 while northern cattle sold from $122-125 live. Dressed sales in the north reached $195-196. USDA’s updated supply and demand report showed a mild increase in beef production compared to a month ago estimates with a moderate reduction in pork production. Beef exports left unchanged, but pork exports increased. Oklahoma Weekly Cattle Auction Summary Livestock Weighted Average Report for 4/4/2021…

Date: March 24th, 2021 Livestock futures mixed during trading yesterday but mostly higher as cattle futures held small to moderate gains and lean hogs triple digits higher hitting new contract highs yet again. Cash feedlot trade very light at steady money, $114 live. Last week’s complete recap of cash feedlot trade resulted in a weighted average actually a $1 higher than the week previous at $114.23 live and $2 higher for dressed trade at $181.49. Packers did have to raise bids late in the week to finish off their buying needs. Supplies are significantly more manageable now and weights have come down the past couple weeks which are both supportive. Slaughter levels are lower though and beef prices back to trending higher. Oklahoma National Stockyards…

Date: March 16th, 2021 Cattle futures continued the rally from last Friday with most contracts trading triple digits higher. The best thing that can happen to the cattle market would be a breakout higher from the steady cash feedlot trade and along with another drop in carcass weights. Beef prices have fallen recently along with chainspeeds. Showlists do appear to be lower this week in all areas. Hog futures remain under nearby pressure although fundamentals remain supportive. Exports are bullish, cash and product trade continues higher. NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY – WEEK ENDING 03/13/2021 RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total THIS WEEK: 303,200 58,900 31,900 394,000 LAST WEEK: 282,800 56,700 12,900 352,400 YEAR AGO: 198,200 22,000 1,900 222,100 Compared to last week, steers and…