Large commodity index funds, better known as managed money, enlarged their collective net long live cattle futures position for the sixth straight time in the week ended Tuesday. At the same time, cattle owners, or commercial traders, extended their total net short cattle position for the sixth straight week. The information came from the weekly … Read More

Wholesale prices for 90% lean beef have shot higher this year on a trajectory that exceeds last year or the 2018-2022 average, yet a solid reason for the rise eludes many analysts. “There is so much noise in the grind market that it’s hard to see exactly what is driving it,” said Nevil Speer, independent … Read More

The latest Cattle on Feed report pegged the Feb. 1 feedlot inventory at 11.8 million head, fractionally above year-ago levels, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist in a letter called Cow-Calf Corner. Feedlot inventories are declining after rising above year-earlier levels last October, Peel said.  January placements were 92.5% of last … Read More

Agricultural real estate values remained strong through the end of 2023 despite a moderation in the farm economy and higher interest rates, said Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Economists Nate Kauffman and Ty Kreitman in a Bank release. According to a survey, the value of non-irrigated cropland increased by as much as 10% from a … Read More

Total red meat supplies in freezers on Jan. 31 were up about 4% from a month earlier but down about 11% from last year, said the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report Monday. The report initially was scheduled for release on Friday but was delayed because of technical issues at the USDA. Total frozen poultry supplies … Read More

For the fifth straight week, managed money, or large commodity index funds, enlarged their collective net long live cattle position as cattle owners increased their total net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday, which reported trader class activity for the week ended Tuesday.   … Read More

The first week of February, 500-pound steers in Oklahoma posted a weekly record price of $321.34 per cwt, surpassing the previous high of $312.72 in November 2014, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist, in a letter called Cow-Calf Corner. For the first three weeks of February, the price of those steers … Read More