In the latest reporting week ended Tuesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said large commodity index funds, known as managed money, expanded their collective net long live cattle futures position. The CFTC’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday also showed that commercial traders, those who deal mostly in the cash market and use futures for … Read More

Wholesale beef trimmings prices are fading but remain higher than last year, according to data from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service.   90% LEAN BEEF FADING   The data, which was compiled and published by the Livestock Marketing Information Service in Denver, shows wholesale 90% lean boneless beef last week at $374.77 per cwt, down … Read More

Exports of US beef, pork and lamb trended higher year over year in March, according to data released by the USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. A USMEF said in a release that beef export value was the highest since June, while Latin American markets again fueled pork export growth. Plant eligibility … Read More

Much of the Southern Plains received significant precipitation in April, providing a much-improved pasture, hay and pond water situation. The change offered cow/calf producers an improved pathway to heifer retention and herd expansion, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist, in a letter called Cow-Calf Corner.   THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT   If … Read More

Closeouts of fed cattle from Kansas feedlots in March dropped seasonally to a level slightly less than the 2019-2923 average but continued to be more than March 2924. The data came from the Livestock Marketing Information Center, which was compiled from information gathered by the Kansas State University Extension service.  The Extension service surveys a … Read More

Contributing to a rally in live cattle futures, large commodity index funds, known as managed money, extended to extend their net long position, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. In its weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday, the CFTC also showed that commercial traders, those who own, or will own, the cattle … Read More

The fed cattle market continues to pop, said Agricultural Economist David Anderson of Texas A&M University, in a Livestock Marketing Information Center letter called In The Cattle Markets. “Pop as in a champagne cork not a balloon,” Anderson said. There certainly have been some fluctuations in prices, especially in the futures market, over the last … Read More