The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on Dec. 1 totaled 77.5 million head, down about 1% from Sep. 1 and Dec. 1, 2019, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said Wednesday in its Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. Declines were shown in the breeding inventory and in the market hog inventory.  Because of … Read More

Total frozen red meat supplies were down about 2% on Nov. 30 from a month earlier and down about 12% from last year, the USDA said in its monthly Cold Storage report Tuesday. Beef stocks were up while pork inventories declined, the report said. An analyst said beef stocks go along with what the US … Read More

Many US feedlots are thought to be up to date with their marketings of fed cattle, but unless they are growing cattle larger than they were last year on purpose, there may still be some that are not current. Average live cattle and dressed carcass weights are higher than a year earlier, and they are … Read More

Large commodity investment firms, known as managed money, reversed course and expanded their collective net long live cattle position during the week ended Tuesday as hedgers extended their collective net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report Friday.   FUNDS PUSH LONG CATTLE POSITION   By Tuesday, … Read More

Last week’s sharp drop in boxed beef values whacked 32% off estimated beef packer gross profits, but they still are thought to be making more than $300 for each fed steer slaughtered. The calculations came from the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker, out of Sterling Marketing Inc., published by Drovers. But cash cattle prices also declined … Read More

The January USDA Cattle inventory report will be especially interesting given the dynamics of 2020 and the production expectations for 2021, said Josh Maples, assistant professor and Extension economist at Mississippi State University in a letter to Extension agents through the Livestock Marketing Information Center called In The Cattle Markets.   2020 FEEDER RECEIPTS SHOWED … Read More

USDA’s estimate of US corn production for the 2020-21 crop year is unchanged from November’s at 14.507 billion bushels based on a national average yield of 175.8 bushels an acre, the USDA said in its latest Feed Outlook. The projected season average farm price for corn was unchanged at $4.00 a bushel. Estimates of sorghum, … Read More