Beef packers received a windfall as beef prices surged over the last two weeks, so Tyson Foods announced Friday that it would add $5 per cwt to the negotiated live-basis price of fed cattle and $7.94 to the dressed-basis price this week. And, according to the Sterling Beef Profit Tracker published by Drovers, Tyson and … Read More

With gasoline consumption dropping off as people observe stay-at-home orders from various states, and others stay home because they’ve been laid off, are sick or for other health-related reasons, it’s gotten cheaper to feed corn to cattle. Weekly cash corn prices in Omaha dropped over the last two weeks as buying interest from various points … Read More

Total red meat supplies in freezers on Feb. 29 were up 3% from the previous month and up 5% from last year, according to monthly Cold Storage report from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service Monday. Total pounds of beef in freezers were up 1% from the previous month and up 4% from last year. … Read More

Large commodity index funds, called managed money, reversed course in the week ended Tuesday and reduced their collective net short position, according to the weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. During the week, commercial traders, those who own the cattle and primarily trade as hedgers, also reduced their collective … Read More

Covid-19 is hitting the beef supply chain hard, as evidenced by the huge spikes in the USDA’s boxed beef cutout values this week. Grocers are looking for supplies to fill their meat cases for upcoming features, driving prices higher.  And while few expect such price spikes to continue, it’s easy to see the effect consumer … Read More

As the zombies gather for the Covid-19 apocalypse, China already is returning to normal economic activity, and the extensive quarantines implemented in other countries may be about to slow the world-wide panic, said vaunted futures analyst and forecasting firm The Hightower Report. “Certainly the economic carnage is severe and is likely to expand, and that … Read More

The Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics last week showed that prices rose in February by 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the same increase as in January. Over the last 12 months, the all-items index increased 2.3% before being seasonally adjusted.  The all items index increased 2.3% for the 12 months … Read More