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Date: March 18th, 2020 Live Cattle futures were the leader yesterday using expanded limits to close $4.50 higher on the front three months. Feeders were impressive also, but did show some wild trading ranges as high as $7 and finished +187 to +505. Nearby Lean hogs also finished the expanded limit higher. This also wasn’t the result of limit higher equites with the Dow +600 points when livestock futures closed. Beef prices shot higher Monday and yesterday after the mass grocery store meat counter cleanout that started late last week. Cash feedlot trade already kicked off Monday on moderate volume at $105 live up to $110 but has ceased since. Later this morning the Fed Cattle Exchange online auction will be held with 10 times…

Date: March 16th, 2020 Friday closed out a wild week for the markets and the first major separation of the stock market from the cattle market in over a month. Now part of, in fact over half of Friday’s gain for the equites came after the commodity markets closed as President Trump announced a major private/public sector partnership in combatting the spread of COVID-19 and declaring the first public health national emergency since the H1N1 emergency in 2009. After the 10% collapse on Thursday, the stock market rallied back 9.3%. Cattle futures opened sharply higher but failed to hold gains mid-morning and used the expanded limits to set new lows. Nearby through December live cattle contracts closed the expanded limit $4.50 lower while only August…

Date: March 13th, 2020 The World Health Organization officially classifying the COVID-19 coronavirus a world pandemic adding more fuel to the market fire sale. Of the over 118,000 cases reported globally in 114 countries, 4,291 people have died, more than 90 percent of cases are in just four countries, and two of those – China and South Korea have significantly declining epidemics. This coronavirus has spread rapidly but compare these stats with 2019-2020 flu season. According to the CDC, so far this season there have been at least 34 million flu illnesses, 350,000 hospitalizations and 20,000 deaths from flu just here in the U.S. President Trump declared a travel ban for 30 days from Europe, all sporting events, conferences cancelled, universities going to online classes…

Date: March 10th, 2020 At the time livestock futures closed, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 1,600 points, trading over 2,100 points lower and finishing 2,015 lower, with the NASDAQ Composite down 625 and the S&P 500 Index down 226. The stock market triggered 2 circuit breaker pauses yesterday shortly after the open. Both live and feeder cattle contracts opened their respective limits lower, $3 and $4.50, yet did come off those limits during the trading session with only the August live contract settling limit lower but every feeder cattle contract. Lean hogs also touched $3 limit lower and finished just above those marks. Cash feedlot trade reported in Nebraska and Western Corn Belt on a few thousand head down another $3 to…

Date: March 9th, 2020 U.S. and world equity markets closed out the week sharply lower taking cattle futures with them. Cash feedlot trade was down another $2 at $113 live with dressed trade off $5 from $180 to $182. Beef prices rallied back and hog futures finished the week higher. The spread of the coronavirus has improved in both China and South Korea but still spreading in Europe and the U.S. with Italy the hardest hit and going on lockdown. NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY – WEEK ENDING 03/06/2020 RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total This Week: 179,900 46,000 28,300 254,200 Last Week: 202,700 67,000 1,200 270,900 Year Ago: 204,000 63,400 36,900 304,300 Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold uneven; from 2.00 lower…

In the past week and a half, there has been a very strong correlation between equity market trade and the cattle complex, so yesterday prior to the open yesterday when the DOW was up nicely it injected some enthusiasm into the meats as well. At one point the DOW was up well over 1000 points and at one point live cattle were up the $3 limit on some contracts and feeders were knocking on the door of their $4.50 higher limit. We didn’t close at those levels, but the front three months in fats were solidly over $2 and the front four in feeders were over $2 higher as well. Bottom pickers were coming out of the woodwork calling for the lows to be in,…

Date: March 2nd, 2020 The narrative never changed last week, the spread of the coronavirus dominated headlines and pressured all markets. The DOW was down over 3600 points last week to levels not seen since last summer. Cattle futures tried to spark a rally almost every day last week but massive selling pressured prices as well as cash feedlot trade. On Tuesday, negotiated trade developed in Texas and Kansas at $115, which is $5 under last week’s weighted average. A very small amount of $114 traded in Kansas on Thursday and as low as $113. Nebraska dressed trade was $185 to $188 Tuesday and down to $183 on Thursday. NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY – WEEK ENDING 02/28/2020 RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total This…

Date: February 26th, 2020 Equities and cattle took another hit yesterday as most other commodities stabilized. It wasn’t right off the bat, livestock futures did open higher yesterday and traded mixed through the morning hours. Cash feedlot trade already ramping up activity yesterday at $115 live in TX and KS, which is $5 lower than a week ago, and $185 to $188 dressed, mostly $186 in the NE, down another $4 from last week. The Fed Cattle Exchange online auction will be held later today with 755 head consigned compared to last week’s 422 head of which none sold. Cattle slaughter from Tuesday estimated at 124,000 head, up 1,000 from last week and up 6,000 from last year. Hog slaughter from Tuesday estimated at 495,000…

Date: February 25th, 2020 Nearly every commodity on the board was in the red yesterday, gold the exception which was sharply higher, and U.S. stocks were sharply lower as investors responded to fresh concerns that coronavirus is not not contained2. As if Mondays weren't tough enough already, the news of the coronavirus spreading into South Korea and Japan panicked the market along with updated data from the World Health Organization. A few fat cattle trade in Iowa yesterday at $119 live, $1 lower than last week and $187 dressed which is $3 lower. Joplin Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Carthage, MO Livestock Weighted Average Report for 2/24/2020 Total Receipts: 8,701 Last Week: 6,882 Last Year: 6,873 Compared to last week, steers and heifers under 600…

Date: February 19th, 2020 Livestock futures were higher most of the day yesterday and held onto decent gains to start the week as follow through buying controlled the market chatter. Feedlots should be looking to take advantage of the recent rally with cash trade now some $2 discount to the nearby live cattle contract. Beef demand should also continue to strengthen as we exit winter and enter the grilling season along with continued hopes that China becomes a major buyer of protein this year. The Fed Cattle Exchange online auction will be held later this morning with 422 head consigned compared to last week’s 413 head of which 315 sold at $119 live. Joplin Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Carthage, MO Livestock Weighted Average Report…