Commercial traders continued to extend their net short position in live cattle futures during the week ended Tuesday, while managed money firms kept their positions near steady. So those who theoretically could make or take delivery of futures contracts are losing faith in the market’s ability to maintain its current price gains, while fund type … Read More

Chicken slaughter during January was down 3% from December and down 4% from a year earlier as companies took advantage of the birds’ short life spans and cut production in the face of declining returns. That is something cattle producers can’t do because of the extended life spans and reproduction cycles of the animals.  These … Read More

The number of US farms continues to decline as small operations are eaten by larger, but the amount of land being farmed also is declining, a USDA survey showed. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, in its Farms and Land in Farms Summary 2015, estimated the number of US farms last year at 2.07 million, … Read More

If beef and fed cattle prices are moving higher in the short term, gains likely will be capped by rising volumes of red meat in cold storage. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service released its monthly Cold Storage report Tuesday.  It showed that total red meat stocks in US freezers as of Jan. 31 were … Read More

January cattle feeding returns remained mired deep in red ink, but losses were dramatically less than in late 2015, and some now are projecting a profitable year for the most economically managed feedlots. Calendar year 2014 was by most accounts the second best year ever for High Plains cattle feeders, while 2015 was by all … Read More

Large commodity funds gave up some of their net long live cattle position during the week ended Tuesday, even though commercial traders extended their net short position. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission weekly Commitments-Of-Traders report Friday showed managed money, a term for large fund traders, reduced their net long position to 11,437 contracts from 13,766 … Read More

Grocery retailers are gearing up for grilling season, pushing prices for grillable cuts at the expense of products that are cut into roasts. The USDA Agricultural Marketing Service’s data show a decided bump in wholesale prices for boneless beef ribeye prices the last three weeks while prices for chucks and rounds have declined over the … Read More