Pasture, Rangeland and Forage Rainfall Index insurance (PRF) continues to gain popularity, said Matthew Diersen, risk and business management specialist at South Dakota State University, in a Livestock Marketing Information Center letter called In The Cattle Markets. PRF is insurance against low precipitation that may be correlated with reduced feed production, Diersen said.  PRF has … Read More

Beef demand the last few years has been phenomenal, pushing fed cattle prices sharply higher from their COVID lows, said Nevil Speer, owner of Turkey Track Consulting in Bowling Green, KY. Weekly USDA five-area weighted average fed steer prices rose $95 per cwt from July 2020 to June 2923, going from $94.87 per cwt to … Read More

Large commodity index funds, called managed money, sold a large percentage of their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday, while commercial traders, or cattle owners, covered a portion of their total net short position. The data came from the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading … Read More

With ever-tightening cattle and beef supplies pushing prices higher, all eyes are on beef demand going forward, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist, in a letter called Cow-Calf Corner. Beef demand has been remarkably robust through many shocks in recent years and continues to surprise and impress despite the nervousness of … Read More

Fed cattle prices have strengthened in the last few months as lower corn prices have decreased the feeding cost of gain, said Purdue University Agricultural Economist Michael Langemeier, in a university release. Partially in response to those two phenomena, feeder cattle prices and breakeven prices have increased substantially, Langemeier said.  He expected fourth-quarter breakevens to … Read More

The National Cattlemen’s Beef Association issued a statement Friday strongly opposing the US Department of Agriculture’s decision to allow Paraguayan beef imports into the US starting next month. The rub comes because Paraguay has Foot and Mouth Disease among its livestock.  FMD has been called the most contagious disease known.  And while it does not … Read More

Large commodity index firms, known as managed money, increased their collective net long live cattle futures position during the week ended last Tuesday, Nov. 7, as hedgers grew their total net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Monday.  The report usually is published each Friday … Read More