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Date: January 18th, 2023 Equites sharply lower and grains higher providing most of the pressure on cattle futures yesterday. It didn’t help to have last week’s cash fed cattle trade to wrap up the week at $1 to $2 lower. It also did not help so see that 1/3 of the volume was for deferred delivery. Leverage is the key word this week as packers will try to maintain it and feeders will be trying to regain some. Live cattle futures broke through nearby support levels while feeders now 4 consecutive days trading lower and into new recent lows. Lean hogs spent most the day triple digits higher but starting trimming gains midday with the nearby Feb contract finishing lower while all deferred contracts held…

Date: January 17th, 2023 Livestock futures last Friday finished mixed as well as for the week. Live cattle were able to hold small gains week over week, but both feeders and lean hogs were lower with pressure coming from higher corn prices. Cash fed cattle trade volume was light again last week and steady to $2 lower than the week previous. Live trade in KS and TX at $156 with trade in the North from $156 to $158 live and $250 to $255 on a dressed basis. Supplies will continue to get tighter as weights have already been reported lower to begin the New Year. Packer margins are still very good and should continue to keep chainspeeds near max capacity. For the week, Friday January…

Date: January 12th, 2023 Livestock futures steady to lower yesterday with yet again new lows for lean hogs. Nearby February lean hogs have lost nearly $13 since December 27th. Cash fed cattle trade still only light volume so far this week in the North at $158 live and $252 dressed, $1 to $2 higher than last week’s early trading. Smaller show lists and lower weights should be supportive this week. Packers should also be running near max capacity with higher beef prices and hoping to hold cash steady this week, even though Choice did take a dip lower yesterday. Asking prices in the South still $158 to $160 live and $160+ in the North. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock Weighted…

Date: January 9th, 2023 Livestock futures finished lower last Friday which again led to losses week over week. Cash fed cattle trade on the lighter volume side from steady to $1 lower than the week previous. Live trade in the South reported at $157 with trade in North from $157 to $160 live and mostly $252 on a dressed basis. Beef prices continue to climb higher which is overall friendly as packers should be near max capacity and trying to sell as much as possible. Choice Beef to Pork Cutout now out to 3.37:1 which means beef is over 3 times more expensive to pork and could begin to hurt beef demand. Weekly export sales in essence wrapped up for the year with net cancelations…

Date: December 29th, 2022 Livestock futures mixed yesterday as low volume holiday trading takes hold and little new news. As of the close, no cash fed cattle trade yet this week, no bids yet either as this this week’s volume will be lighter than a normal week’s run just like last week. Early asking prices started at $158+ live. After the close, light volume was reported at steady to $1 higher than last week at $158 live and $248 dressed. Beef prices held steady which remains supportive. Feeders were able to hold small gains yesterday even in the face of higher corn prices. Lean hogs were mixed to lower with both pork prices and cash lower. Cattle slaughter on Wednesday estimated at 128,000 head, up…

Date: December 28th, 2022 Livestock futures began the week mixed as live cattle were supported by sharply higher beef prices but feeders lower with grains higher. Beef prices continue to rally this month, up over $26 since the beginning of the month and over $37 from this month’s lows. Choice sharply again yesterday, now topping $280. Lean hogs started this week sharply higher in the nearby supported by last week’s friendly Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. USDA also released its monthly cattle on feed report late Friday which was overall friendly as well even though placements were a little higher than expected. The pre report trade estimate was at 96% vs. a year ago but November placements totaled 1.93 million head, only 2% below a…

Date: December 20th, 2022 Livestock futures opened higher yesterday with grains under pressure but soon fell victim to the overall commodity selloff to begin the week. Live cattle held the best with small gains, lean hogs were mixed and feeders hit with triple digit losses. I am a little surprised that feeders didn’t hold up better. NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY - WEEK ENDING 12/17/2022 Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold steady to 3.00 higher in the South Central and Southeast, while the North Central region sold 1.00 to 3.00 lower. Demand was moderate to good. Quality is a bit harder to find currently and mostly just a timing issue as much of this years' marketing is complete with many producers holding…

Date: December 19th, 2022 Morning Ag Markets – Matt Hines Almost all livestock futures finishing higher last Friday from supportive fundamentals during the week. Live cattle supported by sharply higher beef prices and steady to higher cash fed cattle trade. Live trade in the Southern Plains steady with the week previous at $155 while trade in the North steady to $3 higher from $155 to $158 live and $247 to $248 dressed. Feeders higher on Friday but still finished slightly lower week over week with corn choppy but holding higher prices last week. Lean hogs sharply higher on Friday securing week over week gains with a technical bounce off nearby support levels and higher pork and cash to end the week. For the week, Friday…

Date: December 14th, 2022 All commodities trading higher and most able to settle higher yesterday. Equities also higher and the US$ lower as November inflation numbers came in better than expected. Several live cattle contracts were able to make new contract highs. Cash fed cattle trade from last week still premium to December live cattle futures with little to no trade yet this week. Beef prices sharply higher on Monday and pulling back some Tuesday, but overall should also be supportive for steady to higher cash fed cattle trade again this week. Pork prices sharply higher yesterday as well helping prevent futures from making yet another new recent lows. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock Weighted Average Report for 12/12/2022 -…

Date: December 12th, 2022 Cattle futures higher last Friday and mixed for the week as hogs were lower. Cash fed cattle trade steady to $2 lower than the week previous in TX at $153 to $155 and steady to $1 higher in KS from $155 to $156 live. Trade in the North $1 to $2 lower at $156 live and $247 dressed. USDA made a few changes on the meats balance sheets on Friday. Beef production for 2022 increased by 70 million pounds and exports for both this year and next increased by 20 million pounds. Pork production for 2022 decreased by another 60 million pounds and exports reduced by 75 million pounds. For the week, Friday December 2nd through Friday December 9th, December Live…