In a turn of events that may send cattle producers and feeders to their brokers, JBS SA, the world’s largest meat company, is facing a major corruption crisis. Many had wondered why the Batista family was able to steer a small, family owned business into the world’s largest meat company in just one generation.  Now … Read More

Western states show a significant drop in hay stocks as of May 1, yet all hay acreage in these states is down as well, pointing the way to tighter feed inventories. As of May 1, USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service reported that hay stocks in all but seven states west of the Mississippi River were … Read More

If there is any doubt about why beef prices have waffled in the past few weeks, one look at the breakdown in the prices for specific beef cuts will show the reason:  grilling season has arrived. Wholesale boxed beef cutout data from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service show weekly averages gained less last week than … Read More

As US President Donald Trump sets the wheels in motion to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement, the largest cattle-producer organizations in the US, Canada and Mexico sent letters to the presidents of all three countries expressing their concerns. They said the beef business would have little to gain from new NAFTA negotiations. “Recent … Read More

This month’s USDA Cold Storage report likely will be considered neutral by livestock futures traders since beef and pork supplies were in line with expectations. Total red meat supplies in US freezers on April 30 were up 4% from a month earlier but were down 4% from a year earlier. Total pounds of beef on … Read More

Large investment funds, called managed money, increased their net long live cattle futures position during the week ended Tuesday as commercial traders extended their net short position, said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC revealed the numbers in its weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday and said managed money had a net long cattle … Read More

One of the only legs left for the cattle market to stand on appears to be softening.  The other one may not have the strength to provide the necessary lift to reverse what appears to be a trend. First, it was the futures market that gave the first hints that cattle prices lacked the backbone … Read More