The spread between wholesale choice and select beef prices is nearing a critical point where it will make a seasonal low, but predicting just when it will happen is a little like reading the entrails of an economist. The seasonal average pinch point for the 2012-16 weekly average choice/select spread happens in two weeks.  This … Read More

With weekly cattle and hog slaughter up close to 3% year to date, Monday’s monthly USDA Cold Storage report showed packers were able to keep beef from accumulating in the freezers, said ADMIS market analysts. However, the accomplishment came at a cost with lower choice beef and hog prices. Slowing foreign trade because of rising … Read More

While Friday’s USDA Cattle on Feed report was considered neutral to many cattle market analysts, the midyear USDA Cattle Inventory report could be considered bearish to feeder cattle prices. The number of cattle in the herd grew, forcing the rate of female slaughter up and increasing the number of feeder cattle available for placement into … Read More

An agricultural economist at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls told Extension Agents this week that lean hog and live cattle futures prices could rebound, despite China’s import tariffs. Brenda Boetel, said in this week’s “In The Cattle Markets” from the Livestock Marketing Information Center that both markets had been driven lower than was reasonable to … Read More

USDA forecast rising utilization of red meats, poultry, eggs and milk in 2019 to balance the expected supply increases of these commodities. The new predictions come in the July release of the Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook from the USDA’s Economic Research Service, which was released on Tuesday. The ERS looked at “total utilization” of … Read More

Corn and soybean exports built over the last few weeks as lower prices spurred demand, and current estimates place both crops on track to meet or come near USDA projections for this marketing year, said Todd Hubbs, agricultural economist at the University of Illinois. Hubbs noted his opinion in the Illinois Extension Service’s “Farmdocdaily,” adding … Read More

Prime beef may be losing its luster with buyers while branded and choice product are holding their own or even gaining. USDA-Agricultural Marketing Service data compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Center show that prime beef’s portion of the comprehensive beef cutout has declined in relation to branded and choice product.  The relationship of branded … Read More