The cattle industry continues to feed heifers more efficiently, but there may be a downside in portion sizes, said Derrell Peel Oklahoma State University Extension livestock marketing specialist, in the Service’s “Cow/Calf Corner.” Oklahoma State University research has shown that big carcasses lead to big beef cuts, which may limit demand, Peel said. Heifer carcass … Read More

Large commodity investment firms, called managed money, are flirting with a net zero live cattle futures position as they whittled off a few more long cattle positions during the week ended Tuesday. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in its monthly Commitments of Traders report Friday, said managed money had a net long live cattle position … Read More

The average number of days March slaughter cattle spent in Kansas feed yards was up markedly from last year and the 2012-2016 average, showing the young average age of the feeder cattle that were placed last fall. It was known widely that feedlots were putting young calves into their pens at that time, and the … Read More

USDA production forecasts for 2019 call for increases in beef, pork, broilers, turkeys, eggs and milk, said the USDA’s monthly Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry Outlook Wednesday. Specifically, beef production was forecast to climb 1.8%; pork production could climb 3.1%; broilers were expected to rise by 2.3%; turkeys could be up 0.9%; eggs were seen up … Read More

US domestic beef demand remains strong with the rib and loin primals the heroes of the day. Andrew Griffith, agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee, wrote in the “Tennessee Market Highlights” that “there is no doubt consumer demand for middle meats is beginning to hit its stride as spring and summer like temperatures have … Read More

The weekly Kansas fed cattle basis is extremely wide, with cash over the Jun futures contract last week by $19.81 per cwt, compared with a 2012-2016 average of $7.33 and a standard deviation of $1.66, USDA and CME Group pricing data showed. The basis is the difference between cash and the stated futures delivery month … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, called managed money, added slightly to their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday as producer types made marginal gains in their net short position. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday said managed money’s net long cattle position was 13,438 contracts, … Read More