There was a sharp rise in agricultural producer sentiment in January as the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer rose 17 points from December to a reading of 167, a Purdue University release said. Although the Index of Current Conditions essentially was unchanged, up one point to a reading of 142, the Index of Future … Read More

The trade-enhancement agreement with Japan that lowers agricultural tariffs in Japan, signing of the US-Mexico-Canada (Trade) Agreement and the Phase 1 trade agreement with China have been positive developments for US farmers, even though commodity market reaction has been muted. That statement came from Keith Good, social media manager for the University of Illinois Farmdoc … Read More

The US cattle herd on Jan. 1 declined by 391,400 head, or 0.41%, to 94.413 million from 94.805 million a year earlier, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its semi-annual Cattle (Inventory) report on Friday. That amount of decline is almost insignificant in the total scope of things, a market analyst said, but … Read More

It looks like calf demand is strong this winter as weather conditions keep pastures open and possible declines in calf availability push prices. Light-weight steer and heifer prices, the kind most likely to be put on grass or wheat somewhere, have garnered higher prices this January than a year ago. It is more common for … Read More

It was somewhat surprising to some that the spread between USDA choice and select graded beef prices narrowed to less than $1 Tuesday, but the move is pretty normal for this time of year. But the weekly average choice/select spread could narrow a little more before it starts to go up again. Information from the … Read More

US cattle herd numbers are scheduled for release on Friday, but even before the numbers come out, USDA data show an increase in total female slaughter through 2019 that could bring total herd size down from its year-earlier numbers. Many market analysts felt the peak in the current cattle cycle The USDA said all cattle … Read More

As the US pork industry gets ready to feed China’s hunger for pork while African Swine Fever continues to take its toll on the Chinese swine herd, China is doing all it can to restore its own swine industry, an Agence France Press story showed. And, if all goes according to plan, the world’s pork … Read More