Cattle feeding margins improved substantially with the cattle sold for slaughter last week, but they remain negative by nearly $50 a head. The calculations were made by John Nalivka, president of Sterling Marketing of Vale, Ore., and author of the Sterling Profit Tracker, which is published by AgWeb. Calculations showed that the average loss for … Read More
Annual Fed Cattle Top Already In?
If cash cattle and beef markets are like last year, the annual fed cattle top may already be in. Rising fed cattle numbers and continued pushback by beef consumers may make cash cattle prices behave more like last year and less like the 2010-2014 average. If so, the picture isn’t pretty. Live cattle futures prices … Read More
Funds Trim Live Cattle Positions
Managed money, a proxy for large investors, trimmed its net long live cattle positions while commercial traders continued to ease their net short positions. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Friday that for the week ended Tuesday, managed money had reduced its net long position in live cattle futures to 25,105 contracts from 26,623 the … Read More
Beef Ribeye Prices In Counter-Seasonal Decline
Wholesale prices for beef ribeyes are in the throes of a counter-seasonal decline and may be a good part of the reason beef packers aren’t bidding more for live cattle. It also may have something to do with cattle investors’ reluctance to bid cattle higher. A Livestock Marketing Information Center graph of USDA Agricultural Marketing … Read More
Historical Basis Augurs Ill For Cash Cattle
Historical basis data indicate the nearby Apr futures contract may have little room to grow while the Jun contract may be too high, and cash prices this week have another level of pressure. The 2010-2014 fed steer basis for Kansas cattle, or the difference between the live cattle cash price and the futures contract price, … Read More
USDA Raises Red Meat Production Estimates
The USDA Tuesday raised its estimate of total red meat and poultry production from last month as higher expected cattle slaughter and heavier carcass weights more than offset a lower pork production forecast. The USDA changed its production estimates in its monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report. The USDA’s World Agricultural Outlook Board … Read More
Is Corn A Good Buy?
After running the numbers reported in the USDA’s March 31 Prospective Plantings report, it seems only a small shortfall in US average corn yield below trend would be needed to eliminate the current modest surplus of corn. That assessment was made by agricultural economists at the University of Illinois and published by the Corn and … Read More