For the 11th straight week, managed money, or large commodity investment funds, lowered their net long holdings of live cattle futures contracts, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC made its data for the week ended Tuesday known Friday in its weekly Commitments of Traders report. The COT report said managed … Read More

November fed cattle sales to beef packers from Kansas feedlots recovered from their uncharacteristic decline in October and were back near the 2016 pace, according to data collected by the Kansas State University. That data, compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Center, showed average feedlot sales to packers in November at 4,526 head, up only … Read More

Fourth-quarter slaughter steer prices posted the biggest increase of any year in the last eleven, say USDA data. Based on the five-market choice steer price monthly average (reported by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and reported by the Livestock Marketing Information Center’s “Livestock Monitor”), October prices were up $5.35 per cwt from September.  In 2013, … Read More

Long-term trends in beef demand make it clear that US consumers, at least, continue to demand more high-eating-quality beef.  USDA data show that prime beef values exceeded the value for choice and even branded beef in every month last year. Information gathered by the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service and compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information … Read More

The USDA’s World Outlook Board Friday reduced its estimate of 2017 total red meat and poultry production by 64 million pounds, or 0.06%, to 100.091 billion from 100.155 billion last month. The WOB’s monthly World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report said that based on preliminary data, beef and turkey production estimates were lowered, more … Read More

Benchmarking and identifying a cow/calf operation’s strengths and weaknesses is the first step to deciding where to focus management efforts, said Dustin Pendell and Kevin Herbel, agricultural economists at Kansas State University. The pair made their assertions in a report on their study of Kansas cow/calf producers and the things they do to vary their … Read More

Unhedged feedlots lost money again in December, the fifth straight month of losses, according to USDA data compiled by the Livestock Marketing Information Center. And unless cattle prices go up, the situation may not change in January.  The next four months of 2018 also appear to be a time of struggle for cattle feeders. The … Read More