Last year, several pieces of legislation were introduced in Congress whose principal aim was to increase the level of negotiated cash cattle trade, said Assistant Professor & Livestock Extension Economist for the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in a letter to Extension agents through the Livestock Marketing Information Center. The … Read More
Funds Reverse, Get Longer Cattle
Large commodity investment funds reversed their investment strategies in live cattle futures during the week ended Tuesday and took on a net longer position than the week before when it declined. At the same time, hedgers took the opposite tack and increased their collective net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading … Read More
Prospective Plantings Report Boosts Grain, Soybeans
Corn markets got a boost Wednesday from the USDA’s Prospective Plantings report, which foretold of tightening stocks for old and new crop. Soybeans also got a boost from the report as it predicted lower-than-expected planted acreage. Contracts for delivery months through this year and into 2022 settled locked limit up in corn and soybeans. Market … Read More
Feeding Margins Jump With Last Week’s Price Gains
Cattle feeding margins jumped back into the black last week as prices for choice fed steers moved an average of $1.53 per cwt on a live basis higher than the previous week, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker published by the Farm Journal. Packer margins last week also rose as prices for boxed beef … Read More
US Hog Industry Shrinks: USDA
The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, with numbers of all major categories lower than a year ago and the previous quarter, according to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in its Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. The breeding herd was down about 3% from last year and about 1% from … Read More
Funds, Hedgers Cut Net Long, Short Cattle Positions
Two straight days of declining live cattle futures prices during the week ended Tuesday sent large investors and hedgers to the sidelines, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday. The most-active Jun cattle futures contract has been working higher, but on Thursday and Friday of last week, a significant … Read More
Per-Capita Red Meat Consumption Seen Down
Led by beef, per-capita US red meat consumption is expected to decline through next year as competing meats do a better job of maintaining their customer bases. The Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver made the predictions using data from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and the Economic Research Service. The LMIC said per-capita … Read More