First-quarter US meat production was up more than 2% than a year earlier, and continuing increases are likely to pressure fed cattle prices, said Purdue University Agricultural Economist James Mintert in “farmdocdaily.” The increase in meat production took place virtually across the board as all major meat production sectors, except turkey, posted year-over-year increases, Mintert … Read More

The early Spring rally appears to be giving cattle feeders a second act, said Texas A&M agricultural economist David Anderson in a letter to Extension Agents. After touching $130 per cwt on a live basis in February, the fed cattle market dropped dramatically into the $110s, Anderson said.  However, the market rebounded to $124 to … Read More

Managed money, or large commodity investment funds, as if Tuesday were nearing zero with their net long live cattle position after nine straight weeks of liquidation, according to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday. The report said managed money’s net long live cattle futures position was 15,387 contracts, down 7,269, … Read More

The winter drought may be finishing off the latest US cattle herd expansion as the daily average cow slaughter floats well above last year and the 2012-2016 average. Already slowing down, US cattle producers appear to be weeding out their older cows more aggressively.  The Federally Inspected daily average cow slaughter on a monthly basis … Read More

Many cow/calf producers now have calves on the ground, so it’s a good time to discuss prices and to update marketing plans for the new-crop, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center in a letter to Extension staff. Calf prices can be expected to behave in certain ways within a calendar year because of the seasonal … Read More

Total red meat supplies in cold storage on March 31 were up 1% from Feb. 28 and were up 7% from last year, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said Monday in its monthly Cold Storage report. Total pounds of beef in US freezers were up 1% from February but down slightly from March 31, … Read More

The US pork industry will face challenges in coming months, but will have trade opportunities at the same time as uncertainty in global markets opens and closes doors. That was a key part of the latest “Pork Quarterly report from RaboResearch, a division of Rabobank.  The US/China trade dispute was expected to distort markets and … Read More