Given current conditions in cattle futures markets and feed production, cattle producers have some options to lock in margin, said Elliot Dennis, assistant professor and extension economist for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, in a letter to Extension agents through the Livestock Marketing Information Center’s weekly In The Cattle Markets. Feeder cattle futures price spreads across … Read More

Total red meat supplies in freezers on June 30 were up 1% from the previous month but down 12% from last year, according to the monthly Cold Storage report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Wednesday. Total frozen poultry supplies were up 4% from the previous month but down 3% from a year ago. … Read More

As the number of cattle on feed in the US remains near last year, the number populating Canadian feedlots remains above near-earlier totals. Data from CanFax, a Canadian market advisory firm, showed that cattle on feed in Alberta and Saskatchewan, totaled 943,959 head on July 1, down 79,041, or 7.73%, from 1.023 million a month … Read More

Agricultural lending at commercial banks appeared to soften further in the second quarter amid the ongoing pandemic, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City said in a release. Financing secured through recent government lending programs likely supported the borrowing demands for some producers, the bank said.   A weak outlook for the agricultural sector amid low … Read More

Managed money, a moniker for large commodity investment firms, cut their collective net long live cattle futures positions during the week ended Tuesday, even though hedgers extended their net short positions. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday showed that managed money’s new net long live cattle position was 19,968 contracts, … Read More

The USDA’s Economic Research Service second-quarter 2020 forecast for beef production was raised Thursday on recent slaughter data. The monthly Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook said third- and fourth-quarter 2020 forecasts were raised on heavier carcass weights and a faster expected pace of slaughter. The increase in slaughter and carcass weights elevated the annual beef … Read More

The US Federal Reserve Bank issued its Beige Book Wednesday, an assessment of economic activity in the country, and said economic activity increased in almost all Federal Reserve districts, but remained well below where it was prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.   OVERALL ECONOMIC ACTIVITY   Consumer spending picked up as many nonessential businesses were … Read More