Large commodity index funds lost more faith in live cattle futures in the week ended Tuesday, moving their collective position to being net short from net long, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday. The new position for those index funds, known in the trade as managed money, on … Read More

Selecting for just one trait can be ruinous in the cow-calf business, but it depends on how that one trait is related to others and how well other traits are kept balanced, according to Dan Loy, director of the Iowa Beef Center at Iowa State University, in a release. Loy recently led an analysis of … Read More

It looks like the US is in for more beef production this year as it takes time for the total herd declines to result in fewer cattle to slaughter. For the first two months of the year, weekly fed cattle slaughter rates ran ahead of last year and the previous five-year average.  This, along with … Read More

Producers’ perception of improved current conditions in the agricultural economy pushed the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer to a record high this month, said Jim Mintert, Purdue agricultural economist, in a release. The barometer rose to 168 in February, an increase of one point from January, and was 18 points higher than in December, … Read More

Global economies are being roiled by coronavirus and cattle markets are no exception, said Oklahoma State University Agricultural Economist Derrell Peel. Peel made his remarks in a newsletter to Extension Agents called Cow/Calf Corner. The combination of broad market fears and their effects have taken a big toll on cattle markets, Peel said.  One of … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, called managed money by traders, again liquidated long live cattle futures positions during the week ended Tuesday, the fifth straight week of liquidation. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday, which said managed money’s new collective net long live cattle position Tuesday stood … Read More

Despite enormous 2020 hog numbers, hog prices likely will average slightly more than last year because of strong domestic and international consumer pork demand, the USDA’s Economic Research Service said in its monthly Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook. Domestic consumers were expected to have abundant pork supplies this year as per capita disappearance was expected … Read More