US exports of pork and beef muscle cuts were strong in October, although shipments of beef variety meats trended lower and drug the total slightly lower, according to data released by the USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. “While the tight labor situation continues to limit the cut and variety meat specifications … Read More

While many cattle feeders and beef packers are using USDA price reports to figure out what fed cattle are worth, many seem to be avoiding them. The hue and cry over fed cattle price discovery has increased over the last several years as a smaller percentage of them are sold on the open market.  But … Read More

As expected, Kansas feedlot sales to packers, called closeouts as the cattle are closed off the books for the feedlot, plummeted in October, according to data collected by the Kansas State University Extension Service and compiled and released by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver.   UNUSUAL MOVES   Feedlot closeouts of fed steers … Read More

Managed money, a proxy for large commodity index funds, held their collective net long live cattle position nearly steady in the week ended Tuesday, while hedgers moved the bar on their net short positions only slightly as well. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday.   FUNDS … Read More

Per-capita third-quarter US beef consumption reached 15.6 pounds, an amount not seen since 2009, as production rose to make up for lost time as the pandemic surged in April and May, said the USDA’s monthly Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report. However, per-capita disappearance was expected to recede through the rest of 2020 and through … Read More

As they do year after year, feedlot managers will manage and balance a multitude of factors in 2021, said Oklahoma State University Livestock Marketing Specialist Derrell Peel in a letter to Extension agents called Cow/Calf Corner. Feedlots will deal with things like winter weather, rising feed costs, the mix of steers and heifers and the … Read More

The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer dropped 16 points to a reading of 167 in November, down from its all-time high set a month earlier as pessimism rose after the elections, said James Mintert, Purdue University agricultural economist in a release about the barometer and the survey that provided the data. The decrease was … Read More