Drought is playing a significant role in the cattle cycle as calves are pushed into feedlots at a faster-than-desired pace, according to the USDA’s Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook report. Two years of drought have deteriorated pasture and forage conditions, taking the pastureland condition index for 2022 to its worst start for the grazing season … Read More

Managed money, otherwise known as large commodity index funds, cut their collective net long live cattle position during the week ended Tuesday as futures prices dropped. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday, which also showed that commercial traders, those who, theoretically, could make or take delivery … Read More

US agricultural credit conditions improved in the first quarter as farm real estate values increased alongside strength in the farm economy, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Economists Nate Kauffman and Ty Kreitman said in a Bank release. Following a year of accelerating increases, the value of non-irrigated cropland across much of the US soared in … Read More

Pressured by the declining buying power of consumers struggling to make ends meet amid higher inflation rates, the wholesale price of boxed beef has sunk below last year and the 2016-2020 average, even as total herd numbers decline. What’s more, price prospects for beef from here on out fall well below levels at this time … Read More

The USDA’s Crop Production report last week showed that US stocks of hay continued to shrink in the latest crop year, making two straight years of decline and pointing to higher prices in the new crop year. May 1 stocks were down about 1.2 million short tons, or 7%, to 16.7 million tons from a … Read More

Farmland values in the Federal Reserve’s Tenth District continued to increase at a rapid pace through 2021, Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank Economists Nate Kauffman and Ty Kreitman said last week in a report. Alongside sustained strength in farm income and credit conditions, the value of all types of farmland was more than 20% higher … Read More

Large commodity index funds, known as managed money, cut their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday as hedgers slashed their total net short position. The information came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Commitments of Traders report Friday, showing that investors were getting out of live cattle futures as … Read More