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Date: May 20th, 2020 Livestock futures were flat to mostly lower on Tuesday. Cash feedlot trade began in Nebraska steady with last week so far at $115 to $120 live and $180 to $190 dressed. The Fed Cattle Exchange online auction will be held later today with 2,782 head consigned compared to 4,601 head last week of which 1,272 head sold at $110 live. U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Perdue announced details of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP), which will provide up to $16 billion in direct payments to deliver relief to America’s farmers and ranchers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. Direct payments will be based on a portion of inventory on hand as of January 15th. In addition to this direct support to farmers…

Cattle complex futures pushed solidly higher once again yesterday, posting triple digit gains in three of the front four months in live cattle and the front three in feeders. Everything else was higher, but didn’t quite hit the $1 mark. Since the first day of May that has meant just short of $10 up in spot May feeder cattle futures and just over $11 higher in live cattle. Futures have been the slow runner in the race to higher ground though, because we’re up $15 in cash feedlot trade since the first of the month. The weighted average for last week’s cash, rounded up to the nearest $1 was $114 for steers and $112 for heifers in Kansas, $110 for steers and $117 for heifers…

Date: May 18th, 2020 Thank you Duane and good morning. Lets’ take a look at last week’s trade in the livestock and grain markets, and see what’s going on here today. Cash feedlot traded midweek at $110. Tyson paid up to $115 in Kansas on Thursday. Texas mandatory price reporting showed some $117.50. Nebraska dressed trade ranged from $170-$185. By the end of the week though, cash trade continued to climb up to $120 live and $190 dressed for some additional light volume on Friday. The weekly unemployment report added another nearly 3 million new claims bringing the COVID-19 total up to 36.5 million people and talk now that we may hit nearly 25% unemployment before getting the economy back up and running. COVID-19 continues…

Date: May 6th, 2020 Tuesday’s futures trade was fairly quiet and uneventful for both livestock and grains. Outside markets were mixed but mostly supportive with equites higher and energies holding gains throughout the day. Cattle futures were mixed to mostly lower while lean hogs were triple digits lower. Beef and pork prices continue to scream higher as packers are trying everything possible to stay open and speed back up the chains. So far it has only been limited success as additional plants close with the first few trying to start back up this week. For many that have remained open, we are seeing the return of previously positive Covid and quarantined employees which is extremely good news. Beef and pork will continue higher until we…

It was a good start to the week for the meat complex with green across the screen from top to bottom in live cattle, feeders and the lean hogs. Hogs caught a huge surge on the front months and had triple digit gains across everything at the close. Feeder cattle were up triples on almost every month and fats were just mildly higher. Watching the situation unfold regarding plants closing down or just slowing down tremendously over covid and the bullish ramifications of that on product trade and negative impacts it has had on cash trade is disheartening, but it’s also fundamentally very logical as well. The pinch point, or bottleneck in the meat chain only exists at the front door of the packing plant…

Date: April 28th, 2020 Equities higher to start the week along with most livestock futures. Cattle futures trading mostly higher yesterday with lean hogs limit higher but the newswire watching continues for the next hotspot or packing plant closure. OSHA just released guidelines to space employees at least 6 feet apart, checking temps and provide face masks yet it is too late for many employees. This has caused many plants of course to slow the chains but even worse has many to shutdown as those are now some of the main hotspots for COVID in the U.S. Cash feedlot trade on Monday reported from KS at $100, even with last week on a few loads. Joplin Regional Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Carthage, MO Livestock Weighted…

Date: April 27th, 2020 Cattle futures finished mixed again last Friday but mostly lower for the week. Cash feedlot trade very minimal as kill slots are at a minimum with only 469K head slaughtered last week compared to pre pandemic levels of 600 to 650K. TX and KS both reported live sales at $100, down $3 from the week previous but a wide range from $93 to $105. Dressed trade also in a wide range from $148 to $160 in NE. April 1 Cattle on Feed as expected at 95% but friendlier March placements at 77% and marketings at 113% vs. a year ago. The 5-week total now for unemployment up to 26 million new claims, 4.4 million new claims added last week. NATIONAL FEEDER…

Date: April 22nd, 2020 Livestock futures remain under pressure as chainspeeds continue to reduce and/or slaughter plants shutdown due to COVID-19 hot spots within employees at the plants. Cash trade this week could be very limited again or near zero as all kill slots are taken from forward contracting obligations. The Fed Cattle Exchange online auction will hold its weekly sale later this morning after postponing to Friday last week. This week there are 4,671 head consigned compared to last week’s 5,778 head of which 898 head sold at $105 live for delivery 1 to 17 days out. Based off last Friday’s close that is still a positive basis of $9.50 for any hedged fats. Ahead of this Friday afternoon’s monthly USDA cattle on feed…

Meat complex futures enjoyed a strong positive day in the hogs and feeder cattle and most of the live cattle contracts. There was a big exception to the rule on the front end of the live trade though and that came from the April contract being down the $4.50 limit, which pulled the June contract down a little too. Everything past those two months was up nicely and the Dec fats even finished up $2. Besides the fact there were some folks caught up in April live cattle option expiration that may have had a tough time unwinding things because of two limit lower closes, which in turn may have added even more to the weakness, there are other explanations that make better sense in…

Date: April 6th, 2020 More pressure on the front months for cattle futures, deferred live cattle even finished higher last Friday. Meat demand as now dwindled after the mass rush to grocery stores the past few weeks. Cash feedlot trade was reported mid-week at $112 live, down $8 from the week previous with some cleanup trade by the end of the week as low as $105. Dressed trade in the North was down $15 to $175. Processing plants for both pork and beef slowing down this past week as meats fill up cold storage, plant employees are staying home and spread out to slowdown the chains. The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits surged to more than 6.6 million last week, breaking a…