May exports of US pork and beef were steady with last year’s strong volumes and increased year-over-year in value, putting the volume and value for both at 2019 highs, according to data released by USDA and compiled by the US Meat Export Federation.   BEEF EXPORTS NEAR STEADY WITH 2018   May beef exports were … Read More

Corn prices have increased since mid-May, and Michael Langemeier, agricultural economist at the University of Illinois, expected them to remain quite volatile for the rest of the year. In the Illinois Farmdoc, Langemeier examined the effect of higher corn prices on feeding cost of gain for cattle finishing.  As a rule-of-thumb, each $0.10 increase in … Read More

Strength of Nebraska’s labor market has been underscored by high levels of engagement in the workforce across all age groups, said a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Nebraska long has been known as a state with low unemployment, the report said.  Older and younger generations are more active in the labor … Read More

Ag producer sentiment rebounded in June as farmers expressed a more optimistic outlook about the future of the ag economy, said a Purdue University/CME Group release. The Ag Economy Barometer, a joint effort of Purdue and the CME Group, increased to a reading of 126 in June, up 25 points from May.  This was based … Read More

Kansas feedlots expanded the number of fed cattle they sold to packer buyers in May, the second straight month of increases after an unseasonal March bottom, according to data collected by the Kansas State University Extension Service. The data was collected from selected, representative feedlots and compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Service in Denver, … Read More

Large commodity investment firms, called managed money in the trade, sold more of their collective live cattle futures positions during the week ended Tuesday, taking them to 27,524 contracts, their lowest net long position since June 26, 2018, when it was 27,190 contracts. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday had … Read More

The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on June 1 was 75.520 million head, said the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service in its Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report Thursday.  This was the highest June 1 inventory since estimates began in 1964. The report could be viewed as bearish to hog futures, which have been … Read More