This year’s consumer rush to buy high-quality beef may be pausing, implying the beef and cattle markets may be topping, an analyst said. Alternatively, it could mean that seasonal demand for high-quality choice beef hasn’t kicked in yet or that pre-emptive seasonal buying by retail grocers and others ahead of the holiday is over, the … Read More

Nebraska’s economy has improved in recent months, following the initial shock of the 2020 pandemic and associated lockdowns, said the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in a report Wednesday. Unemployment edged lower, and consumer spending appeared to rebound somewhat, but economic disparities persisted in Nebraska over time, the Bank said. The pandemic likely exacerbated … Read More

Selecting against ill-tempered cows has always made good sense because wild cattle are hard on equipment, people, other cattle, and now we know they are hard on the bottom line, said Glenn Selk, Oklahoma State University Agricultural Economist in a letter to Extension agents called Cow/Calf Corner. October is a traditional weaning and culling time … Read More

While beef has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts among US consumers in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, pork prices have only stabilized and partially closed the gap with historic values. The average of weekly averages of the pork cutout value from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service for the year to date show that packers … Read More

Managed money, a proxy for large commodity investment funds, trimmed their collective net long position in live cattle futures in the week ended Tuesday, maintaining a near-flat position since the first week of September. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday. Managed money’s new net long live … Read More

Thursday’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service could be considered somewhat unfriendly to lean hog futures on Friday, a market analyst said. The mixed nature of the trends in hog inventory were the reason for the “unfriendly” call versus a more bullish or bearish outlook.  The US inventory of … Read More

The percentage of steer and heifer carcasses grading prime so far during 2020 has outpaced normal levels, said Josh Maples, Extension economist at Mississippi State University, in a Livestock Marketing Information Center letter to Extension agents called In The Cattle Markets. The average percent prime for the first seven months of 2020 was 10.6%, the … Read More