The quarterly count of heifers on feed from the monthly USDA Cattle on Feed report shows feedlots are nearly as full of heifers as they have been since the data breakout began in 2010. In addition to the count of cattle populating US feedlots as of the first of the month, the USDA report adds … Read More

Total red meat supplies in freezers Dec. 31 were up about 1% from the previous month but down about 6% from last year, said the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in its monthly Cold Storage report Monday. Total pounds of beef in freezers were up about 3% from the previous month but down about 6% … Read More

As of Tuesday, large commodity index funds, known as managed money, had a slightly larger collective net long live cattle futures position than they had a week earlier. Commercial traders, those who own, or will own, the cattle and approach the market mostly as for hedging, had a slightly larger collective net short position Tuesday … Read More

The US cattle herd may have contracted more than current estimates of 1% to 2%, said Elliott Dennis, Livestock Economist at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in a letter to Extension Agents via the Livestock Marketing Information Center called In The Cattle Markets. Drought and high feeder cattle prices likely changed the plans of many … Read More

The Jan. 31 USDA Cattle (inventory) report should provide an update on the condition of the US herd, but drought could have something to say about how things turn out, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University agricultural economist in a letter to Extension Agents called Cow-Calf Corner. The report provides Jan. 1 cattle inventories for … Read More

Cattle feeders last year may have set themselves up for what one market analyst called a “death trap” this year. Feeder cattle prices have had a strong runup since the middle of last year, something that maybe shouldn’t have happened, given the tight margins experienced by the feedlots. Feedlot competition for available feeder cattle supplies … Read More

Large commodity index funds, known as managed money, cut their collective net long position in live cattle futures during the week ended Tuesday, Jan. 11, as hedgers also reduced their collective net short position. The information came from data released by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in its weekly Commitments of Traders report.   MANAGED … Read More