The average number of days March slaughter cattle spent in Kansas feed yards was up markedly from last year and the 2012-2016 average, showing the young average age of the feeder cattle that were placed last fall. It was known widely that feedlots were putting young calves into their pens at that time, and the … Read More

USDA production forecasts for 2019 call for increases in beef, pork, broilers, turkeys, eggs and milk, said the USDA’s monthly Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook Wednesday. Specifically, beef production was forecast to climb 1.8%; pork production could climb 3.1%; broilers were expected to rise by 2.3%; turkeys could be up 0.9%; eggs were seen up … Read More

US domestic beef demand remains strong with the rib and loin primals the heroes of the day. Andrew Griffith, agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee, wrote in the “Tennessee Market Highlights” that “there is no doubt consumer demand for middle meats is beginning to hit its stride as spring and summer like temperatures have … Read More

The weekly Kansas fed cattle basis is extremely wide, with cash over the Jun futures contract last week by $19.81 per cwt, compared with a 2012-2016 average of $7.33 and a standard deviation of $1.66, USDA and CME Group pricing data showed. The basis is the difference between cash and the stated futures delivery month … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, called managed money, added slightly to their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday as producer types made marginal gains in their net short position. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday said managed money’s net long cattle position was 13,438 contracts, … Read More

The USDA’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report forecast total US red meat and poultry production for 2019 would be 105.358 billion pounds, 2.369 billion, or 2.30%, above 2018’s 102.989 billion. However, the 2018 production forecast was lowered 504 million pounds, or 0.49%, from last month to 102.989 billion pounds from 103.493 billion. … Read More

With the world getting smaller and world trade competition heating up, it pays to take a look at the agriculture outlook in other countries.  In this vein, the staff at the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service estimated Argentina’s crop production for the 2018/2019 crop year. In a report, FAS staff said Argentine wheat production was forecast … Read More