Fifty percent lean boneless beef prices appear to be topping out their summer peak as 90% boneless beef continues to follow last year’s trend at a higher level. Data from the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service that was compiled and published by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver showed the weekly average price for 50% … Read More

Despite efforts in Mexico to control the northern spread of New World Screwworm, the pest keeps working ever closer to the US border.   GROWING FRUSTRATION   The Texan Tuesday published an article quoting Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller in testimony before the Texas House Agriculture and Livestock Committee Monday saying the current rate of … Read More

In its July Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook report, the USDA projected higher feeder cattle prices than it did a month ago. In June, the weighted-average price for feeder steers weighing 750 to 800 pounds at the Oklahoma City National Stockyards was $310.47 per cwt.  The Outlook report said this was a $10 increase from … Read More

Large commodity index firms, better known as managed money, increased their collective net long live cattle futures position during the week ended Tuesday as cattle owners increased their total net short position. The data came from the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday.   FUNDS BUY CATTLE   Tuesday, … Read More

Non-real estate farm lending at commercial banks declined slightly in the second quarter, according to an article from the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank authored by Economists Francisco Scott and Ty Kreitman. According to the Bank’s National Survey of Terms of Lending to Farmers, the volume of new non-real estate farm loans declined about 5% … Read More

US economic activity increased slightly from late May through early July, according to the Federal Reserve Bank’s Beige Book, which was released Wednesday. Five districts reported slight or modest economic gains, five had flat activity, and the remaining two districts reported modest declines in activity, the Beige Book said.  This represented again over the previous … Read More

The summer doldrums between the Independence Day and Labor Day holidays usually means slack consumer beef demand, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist, in a newsletter called Cow-Calf Corner. Indeed, the choice boxed beef cutout dropped from the end of June to a current weekly average of $386.75 per cwt, down … Read More