After 14 straight weeks of net long position gains, managed money cut their collective live cattle position in the week ended Tuesday, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The data came from the CFTC’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday and said the net long live cattle position of managed money, a … Read More

The dairy cow herd declined 3,000 head in December, the fourth straight month of reductions, according to data from the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service and estimates from the Livestock Marketing Information Center. The LMIC said sequestration suspended data from March to July of 2013 from NASS, so the data includes LMIC estimates for this … Read More

Hog prices should begin to improve seasonally over coming weeks, although some longer-term stumbling blocks remain, said Purdue University Agricultural Economist Chris Hurt, in an outlook report. The normal seasonal tendency is for sharp increases in hog prices through April, May and June, Hurt said. From current live hog prices of around $40 per cwt, … Read More

US beef exports last year shattered the previous value record and achieved a new high for volume, according to year-end 2018 statistics released by the USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation. Pork export volume came up just short of the record set in 2017 while value slipped 1% year-over-year.   BEEF EXPORTS … Read More

Large commodity investment firms, called managed money, increased their net long live cattle futures position for the 15th straight week during the week ended last Tuesday, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC made the data known Friday in its weekly Commitments of Traders report.  The report catches the CFTC up on its … Read More

Friday’s World Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates report lowered its projection for total 2019 US red meat and poultry production from the previous month. A lower forecast for beef and turkey production more than offset higher pork production estimates, the report said.   BEEF PRODUCTION ESTIMATE DECLINES   Beef production estimates for the year were … Read More

Estimated average cash-basis cattle feeding margins rose last week as fed cattle prices were about $2 per cwt higher than the previous week, according to Sterling Marketing’s Beef Profit Tracker, published by AgWeb. Packer margins, however, declined a bit but still remained profitable. AgWeb said Sterling Marketing’s President John Nalivka, said the Beef Profit Tracker … Read More