Livestock producers benefitted this winter from stable corn prices, the result of a large fall harvest and struggling demand. So far this quarter, the US corn market has reflected the balance of last fall’s huge harvest, good overseas buying interest and accelerated ethanol usage, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center’s Livestock Monitor. The 15.1-billion-bushel corn … Read More
Cattle Futures Contract Behind Average Cash Practices
The CME Group’s live cattle futures contract changes may be too little too late, making it difficult for cattle owners and packers to hedge their live cattle ownership positions effectively, market analysts and traders said. Beginning with the Oct’17 delivery month, the CME Group’s live cattle futures contract delivery specifications change to 60% choice and … Read More
Funds Raise Cattle Position, Cut Corn
Managed money, or large commodity funds, raised their net long live cattle futures positions to their largest point in 1 ½ months during the week ended Tuesday, while commercial traders extended their net short position to their largest in more than a year. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in its weekly Commitments of Traders … Read More
House Ag Committee Hears Farm Bill Ideas
The House Agriculture Committee heard from the major livestock associations on the direction they think the next US Farm Bill should take. They heard opinions on the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration, a Foot and Mouth Disease vaccine bank, Country of Origin Labeling and Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza vaccine use. Present at the hearings … Read More
Trade Necessary To US Meat Producers
The increased role of trade in the last decade for beef, pork and poultry highlights its importance to all meat markets, said Oklahoma State University Extension Economist Derrell Peel, in a release. While each industry concentrates on its production, it is apparent that all meat sectors increasingly are affected by trade. Changes, or disruptions in … Read More
Cattle Futures Push Higher
Live cattle futures Tuesday closed higher, with the nearby Apr delivery month challenging the contract high of $120.32 per cwt set on Jan. 19 with a peak of $120.07. However, it was the Jun contract that saw the most strength, rising $1.25 per cwt on the day to end at $111.05 and setting its fourth … Read More
Chicken Gains Pricing Advantage
Retail prices for beef, pork and chicken were up in February, but remain below 2014 and 2015 peaks, said the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the USDA’s Economic Research Service, and chicken gained on its pricing advantage. Average prices for all fresh beef at retail in February averaged $5.51 a pound; all fresh pork prices … Read More