Funds Prune Long Cattle Position; Get Longer Corn

Large commodity investment funds, called managed money, pruned their collective net long live cattle position in the week ended Tuesday as hedgers also trimmed their total net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders Report Friday, which summarizes the changes to the weekly trading positions of trader … Read More

Federal Reserve: Farm Loan Demand Still Muted

Farm loan demand remained muted at commercial banks in the first quarter of 2021, said the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in a release citing the result of a quarterly survey. A reduction in the volume of operating loans led to an overall decline in total non-real estate lending, the bank said.  Financing activity … Read More

Feb. Kansas Feedlot Closeouts Down

February Kansas feedlot closeouts followed the 2015-2019 average decline from January closely, undercutting the year-earlier rate, according to data collected by the Kansas State University Extension Service and compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver. The K-State Extension Service collects the data from select, representative feedlots across the state each month, and the … Read More

February Beef, Pork Exports Below 2020 Pace

February exports of US beef and pork remained below the rapid pace established in early 2020, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. However, exports were consistent with the USMEF’s February projections and the federation still expects 2021 beef exports to increase substantially year over year, the USMEF … Read More

Funds Increase Long Cattle Positions

Managed money, or large commodity investment firms increased their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended last Tuesday as hedgers boosted their net short position. The data was gleaned from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday.   FUNDS LONGER CATTLER   Managed money’s new net long … Read More

USDA Trims 2021 Meat Production Outlook

The USDA, under the guidance of the World Agricultural Outlook Board, Friday reduced its estimate of 2021 total red meat and poultry production from a month earlier on lower expected pork and turkey production. The beef production forecast was raised from the March report amid a faster rate of cattle slaughter expected in the second … Read More

Cattle Feeders Face Bottom Line Pinch: Peel

The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Quarterly Stocks report and its Prospective Plantings report had significant implications for cattle feeders, said Oklahoma State University Agricultural Economist Derrell Peel. Peel made his comments in a newsletter to Extension Agents called Cow/Calf Corner.  In the letter, he said the reports indicated that corn stocks were tightening with … Read More