As of the week ended Tuesday, large commodity index funds, known as managed money, had a smaller net long live cattle futures position than they held a week earlier, while hedgers had a smaller net short position.   MANAGED MONEY SELLS CATTLE   Data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report … Read More

The March 1 US hogs and pigs inventory was 72.860 million head, up 171,000, or 0.24%, from 72.689 million a year earlier, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said Thursday in its Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. That implies adequate butcher hog availability in the near term, while fed cattle supplies are fading from an … Read More

To remain profitable cow-calf producers need to add value where they can to increase the demand for their calves, and some management and health programs consistently increase sale price of beef calves, said Oklahoma State University Beef Nutrition Specialist Paul Beck, in a letter to Extension Agents called Cow-Calf Corner. An analysis of calf sales … Read More

With the Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report coming this week, it pays to pay attention to the competition. Sow slaughter through mid-March was tracking slightly more than the same period a year ago, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center in a letter to Extension agents.  Year-to-date, weekly sow slaughter was more than 544,000 head, up … Read More

Total red meat production this far into 2023 is tracking relatively close to last year and the 2017-2021 average, but the seasonal trend is for output to decline into early summer. Total red meat production includes veal, lamb and mutton, which comprises a small, but occasionally important piece of the whole. Data from the USDA … Read More

Large commodity index firms, better known as managed money, unloaded live cattle futures contracts in a big way the last two weeks as hedgers covered their own short positions, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trade Commission Friday. The data came from the CFTC’s Commitments of Traders report Friday, which had been interrupted for … Read More

Feb. 28 total red meat supplies in freezers were down about 3% from the previous month but up about 2% from last year, according to the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report Thursday. Total frozen poultry supplies on Feb. 28, were up about 3% from the previous month and up about 10% from a year ago, … Read More