Estimated average cash-basis cattle feeding margins rose last week as fed cattle prices were about $2 per cwt higher than the previous week, according to Sterling Marketing’s Beef Profit Tracker, published by AgWeb. Packer margins, however, declined a bit but still remained profitable. AgWeb said Sterling Marketing’s President John Nalivka, said the Beef Profit Tracker … Read More

Managed money, a term for large commodity investment funds, advanced their collective net long live cattle futures position for the 14th straight week during the week ended Tuesday, Feb. 26, taking them to their largest long position in more than a year. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission made the data known in its Commitments of … Read More

Sentiment among agricultural producers weakened slightly in February compared with a month earlier, according to the monthly Purdue University Ag Economy Barometer. The barometer weakened slightly in February, declining seven points to a reading of 136, compared with 143 a month earlier, a release by Purdue and the CME Group and authored by Agricultural Economists … Read More

Contrary to popular belief, the harsh winter weather conditions are not cutting federally inspected steer carcass weights more than is usual for this time of year. It may be taking longer in the feed yard for cattle to be ready for slaughter, but feedlot managers appear to know how to deal with the harsh conditions.  … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, known as managed money, expanded their collective net long live cattle futures positions during the week ended Tuesday, Feb. 19, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The information came in the Commitments of Traders report Friday.  The report was delayed by the partial government shutdown, and the CFTC … Read More

The US inventory of all cattle and calves as of Jan. 1 was up from a year earlier, but it looks as though the herd-building process is about to end. Data from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service’s semi-annual Cattle (Inventory) report, which was delayed a month by the partial government shutdown, showed a decline … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, called managed money, increased their net long live cattle futures position during the week ended Tuesday, Feb. 12, their 12th straight increase. The data was made known Tuesday by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission through its Commitments of Traders report.  The report usually comes out weekly on Friday, but was delayed … Read More