As of last Tuesday, Jan. 4, large commodity investment firms, known as managed money, had a larger collective net long position in live cattle futures than they had a week earlier. At the same time, commercial traders, those who own cattle and theoretically could make or take delivery of a futures contract, expanded their collective … Read More

A relatively new company has emerged to help producers and retailers hedge the prices of agricultural products they sell or buy when there is no viable futures market. Jim Sullivan, vice president of partnership for Stable, said the company uses large price datasets to generate insurance policies on the price of an input or product.  … Read More

There was little excitement in the country this week from news the Biden Administration has an “action plan for a fair, more competitive and more resilient meat and poultry supply chain.” Many wanted more facts, but this is so new and yet so warmed over that details are lacking, a market analyst said.  The “plan” … Read More

The latest estimate of quarterly US red meat and poultry production through 2023 indicates the markets will retest beef demand’s elasticity through the period. Investopedia defines price elasticity of demand as “a measurement of the change in consumption of a product in relation to a change in its price.”  Beef’s price elasticity will be tested … Read More

Oklahoma State University Extension Beef Cattle Specialist Paul Beck this week provided some thoughts on making short wheat pasture work with high grain prices in a letter to Extension Agents called Cow-Calf Corner. This year, most of central and western Oklahoma has gone more than 40 to 60 days with less than 0.25 inch of … Read More

1-3-22 – Large commodity investment firms, known as managed money, cut their collective net long live cattle futures commitments in the week ended Tuesday, Dec. 21, while hedgers cut their total net short position. The data came from the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission released on Monday, Dec. 27 … Read More

Feedlot inventories have persisted well past the cyclical peak in cattle inventories, said Oklahoma State University Livestock Marketing Specialist, Derrell Peel, in a letter to Extension Agents called Cow-Calf Corner. The total cow herd peaked on Jan. 1, 2019, with the 2018 calf crop the largest of the current cattle cycle, Peel said.  Estimated feeder … Read More