For the fifth straight week, managed money, a moniker for large commodity investment funds, increased their collective net long position in live cattle futures, according to data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday. That same report, the weekly Commitments of Traders Report, with chronicles the activity of various trading groups on the previous … Read More
Herd Rebuilding May Have Begun
It looks like herd rebuilding may have begun. It could be cut off by resurging drought, but for now, rebuilding the US cattle herd looks promising. Total weekly cow slaughter is down, although weekly heifer kills remain elevated from the 2018-2022 average. As of Jan. 1, the USDA reported the US had 87.2 million cattle … Read More
Beige Book: Modest Economic Gains
National economic activity continued to expand from early April to mid-May, according to the Federal Reserve Bank’s Beige Book. However, conditions varied across industries and districts. The Beige Book is a Federal Reserve System publication about current economic conditions across the 12 Federal Reserve districts. It characterizes regional economic conditions and prospects based on a … Read More
Female Role In Cattle Cycle Complex
There are numerous unique factors that make the beef cattle industry complex, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist, in a letter called Cow-Calf Corner. THE TRADE-OFF Two biological facts are critical: cows have one calf at a time in a rather slow biological process; and two, heifers can be … Read More
Frozen Red Meat Supplies Rise; Poultry Stocks Mixed
5-28-24 – Total red meat supplies in freezers on April 30 were up about 4% from the previous month but down about 9% from last year, the USDA said Friday in its monthly Cold Storage report. Total frozen poultry supplies were up about 3% from the previous month but down about 5% from a year … Read More
Beef Cutout Jump May Not Be Significant Move
Choice beef cutout prices jumped last week in what could be the beginning of an annual price spike, but something isn’t normal. The Livestock Marketing Information Center graphed the weekly USDA-reported boxed beef prices. The 2018-2022 weekly average choice cutout price graph shows a definite price peak last week at $299.07 per cwt. This compares … Read More
Pork Cutout Slips, Still Above Year Ago
The pork cutout value slipped below $100 per cwt for the last few weeks but remains about $17 to $19 per cwt more than where prices were last year, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center in its Livestock Monitor. MID-APRIL PEAK In mid-April, the pork cutout value peaked at just over $100 for … Read More