Cattle slaughter through the end of February was lower than last year, which was not a surprise given the tighter inventories, said Will Secor, Extension livestock economist at the University of Georgia, in a letter for the Livestock Marketing Information Center. However, two developments have emerged, Secor said.  First, the distribution of the cattle being … Read More

A larger-than-expected US corn acreage forecast didn’t seem to bother futures traders much as the crop still was seen as a profitable venture for farmers, said Matthew Diersen, risk and business management specialist at South Dakota State University. Writing for the Livestock Marketing Information Center, Diersen said, “expectations for higher profits from corn related to … Read More

Large commodity index funds expanded their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday as traders with strong cash-market ties lengthened their total net short position, according to Friday’s weekly Commitments of Traders report. The report came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission telling of the positions of different classes of … Read More

The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, was down from last quarter and from a year ago as the number of market hogs declined, according to the USDA’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report Thursday.   HOG INVENTORY DOWN   The US hog herd totaled 74.512 million head on March 1, down … Read More

This month’s 2024/25 USDA/Economic Research Service US Coarse Grains Outlook called for a slight reduction in supplies, with greater declines in use, lifting ending stocks by nearly 0.5 million short tons. The March Feed Outlook report said, based on import volumes to date, 2024/25 barley and oats import forecasts were lowered by 1 and 5 … Read More

Total red meat supplies in US freezers on Feb. 28 were down about 1% from the previous month and down about 5% from last year, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Board said in its monthly Cold Storage report Tuesday. Total frozen poultry supplies on Feb. 28 were up about 2% from the previous month but … Read More

The USDA’s Economic Research Service’s monthly retail meat prices showed the price consumers paid for beef continued to rise, outstripping gains seen in pork or broiler chicken prices. A price comparison between the three major meats consumed in the US, done by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver showed the retail price of all … Read More