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Triple digit lower closes create another crazy day of trade for the hog market once again. In the last two weeks, pork cutouts are up more than $12 and cash hogs are $16 higher in the same timeframe. In the midst of that rally there have been some steep drops, particularly in some of the deferred futures months and Monday’s action fit the profile once again. Multiple hog months were down over $2 and the October contract finished down the limit of $3. Live and feeder cattle spent time on both sides of unchanged, but finished in the red across all but one unchanged month and that was the spot August live cattle contract. There was some confusion in that action as well given the…

Date: July 29th, 2019 Light cash feedlot trade in NE and Western Corn Belt midweek at $114 to $117 live, dressed at $183 to $185 which is steady to $2 higher than the week previous. TX and KS traded $112 live, $1 higher than the week previous Friday afternoon. Livestock futures all scored gains for the week and all into new recent highs with corn backing off and cash trade firm. NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE SUMMARY – WEEK ENDING 07/26/2019 RECEIPTS: Auctions Direct Video/Internet Total This Week 131,200 62,500 113,800 307,500 Last Week 149,400 59,200 217,200 425,800 Year Ago 141,600 67,700 100,700 310,000 Compared to last week, steers and heifers sold steady to 3.00 higher with some Northern Plains auctions reported 4.00 to 8.00…

Date: July 24th, 2019 The USDA Cold Storage Report Monday afternoon was bullish for cattle but bearish for hogs, yet lean hog futures led the charge higher yesterday with the nearby August contract touching the $3 limit higher mark right before the close. Cattle opened strong but the corn rally yesterday pulled feeders into the red for most of the day. Live cattle futures into new recent highs but unable to attract additional buying once there. Cash feedlot trade quiet so far this week. The Fed Cattle Exchange online auction will be held later this morning with 378 head consigned compared to last week’s 326 head of which all sold at $111. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock Weighted Average Report…

Banner day for the feeder cattle market yesterday, but the live cattle and lean hogs didn’t really take the bait and follow along very well. Feeders finished the session up over $2 in every contract month. Fats and hogs were must mildly higher in most contracts at the close. The monthly Cold Storage report was released yesterday afternoon and there were some big swings in the data. Total red meat in freezers was down fractionally from a year ago, but frozen beef was down 12%, while frozen pork was up 11%. Those are some big year-to-year changes. Total frozen poultry was down 5% from a year ago with chicken specifically down 6%. The biggest news coming out of that data was several record large storage…

Date: July 22nd, 2019 Cash feedlot trade started down in TX at $111 live which is $1 lower than the week previous and up in the Western Corn Belt at steady with a week ago at $114 to $116 live and $182 to $185 dressed. KS trade followed right along with TX at $111 live as well, $1 lower than the week previous while NE traded $113 to $114 live at $182 to $183 dressed. Cattle futures flipped from an a lower early morning start to hold small gains while lean hogs scored triple digit gains to end the week. For the week, Friday July 12th through Friday July 19th, August Live Cattle -$.87, October -$1.47, August Feeder Cattle -$1.62, September -$2.75, August Lean Hogs…

Date: July 17th, 2019 Cattle futures were lower yesterday after a steady day on Monday while lean hogs were lower nearby but higher on the deferred contracts from spread trading. Live cattle futures may have peaked for the week unless we can see higher cash feedlot trade or cutouts turn higher later this week. Cash feedlot trade quiet so far this week. The Fed Cattle Exchange online auction later this morning with 326 head consigned compared to last week’s 423 head of which none sold. Feeders topped out last week and have traded flat since which is concerning with corn lower the past couple days and we await another cattle on feed report this Friday. Oklahoma National Stockyards Feeder Cattle - Oklahoma City, OK Livestock…

Pretty good week for most of the meat complex as a whole. Futures were solidly higher, negotiated cash feedlot trade was up good as well, but the product trade suffered a lot of weakness. Friday’s futures close had live cattle all up mildly, feeders down moderate to actively with a couple of contracts down in the triple digits. Hogs were down on the front month July, but up in the triple from the August contract through most of the deep deferreds. It took until deep into Friday for any interest to develop in Southern Plains cash trade. Kansas and Texas both logged $112 trade, which was up $3 from the previous week. Nebraska moved a few numbers Thursday at a $185 dressed top, which was…

Date: July 10th, 2019 Livestock futures all finished with strong gains yesterday, most posting key reversals higher on the charts. Corn was under pressure and buyers jumped into the cattle and hog futures. August thru December hogs hit limit higher mid-morning and were able to hold limit higher into the close. Feeders touched limit higher but finished just off those levels while fats scored nearly $2 gains. Cash feedlot trade still quiet so far this week with asking prices surely to come up with the jump in futures so far this week. The Fed Cattle Exchange online auction will be held later this morning with 423 head consigned compared to 392 head last week of which 53 sold for $109 live and 1 to 17…

The relentless pounding of the hog market continued on Monday with $2+ losses across most contract months. Cash has been on a steady course to the downside over the last month plus and the product market is working lower in tandem. Oddly enough, it was African Swine Fever in China that led to the giant rally from March to the April highs, but as the disease spread into other Asian countries and other parts of the globe we’ve seen a drop in the futures market that has taken prices below the levels that were trading when the rally started. In the process, the US has logged six major pork export sales to China and they continue to make the top 5 list on new purchases…

Date: July 8th, 2019 Beef weekly export sales were above average while pork sales dipped below but shipments were strong with 8,100 MT of the 27,000 MT total going to China. Cattle futures held triple digit gains Friday while lean hogs were triple digits lower. Most of the cash feedlot trade last week was done before the Independence Day break. $109 live in the South which is steady with the week previous and still premium to the nearby August contract helping to attract some buying in the futures. In the North, trade was seen initially on light volume at $111.50 live then moved up to $113 to $114, $178 to $180 dressed, steady to $2 better than the week previous. NATIONAL FEEDER & STOCKER CATTLE…