The good news is last week’s stronger cash cattle prices helped cattle feeders with their negative margins.  The bad news is those margins remain in the red by more than $170 a head. The Sterling Beef Profit Tracker from Sterling Marketing in Vale, Ore., and published by AgWeb, said unhedged feedlots lost an average of … Read More

Market analysts think the number of US hogs rose during the December-through-February quarter from the same period a year ago as feed became more affordable and higher prices encouraged herd growth, according to a Reuters survey. The survey predates Friday’s quarterly hogs and pigs report, which is released at 3:00 pm EDT. Survey respondents expected … Read More

Slaughter cattle prices have been slightly higher for the last three weeks, but could run into some nearby resistance soon if recent history is any indicator. USDA price records show that Southern Plains fed steer prices tend to dip in late March before peaking in the first week of April.  After the peak, prices tend … Read More

Managed money became more bullish on live cattle during the week ended Tuesday, but they did so cautiously, nudging their net long position higher for the second straight week. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report, for the week ended March 17, shows managed money with a net long position of 53,684 live … Read More

As rains pull out of the Plains states, they leave behind farmland that remains abnormally dry.  Market analysts are warning of possible yield consequences for the Hard Red Winter wheat crop from which bread is made, but the areas in question also are home to some very large pasture lands. The combination of short soil … Read More

Weekly US beef production is at a crossroad.  It can either follow last year’s trend and move higher for the next two weeks, or it can follow the previous five-year average and drift lower. So far this year, weekly beef production has followed last year’s trend more closely than the five-year average, although at a … Read More

Expected lower first-half feedlot placements notwithstanding, second-half beef production is expected to be near 2014 levels because of longer feeding times for steers and heifers, heavier dressed weights for all cattle and more steers and dairy cows in the slaughter mix. The USDA also thinks more cattle remained on wheat pasture a little longer this … Read More