The first moves toward rebuilding the US cattle herd may have begun as weekly federally inspected cow slaughter is down from a year ago and the 2019-2023 average. “We’re starting to get rain in western parts of the country,” a feedlot manager said.  Producers are starting to retain cows, but not heifers yet. Market analysts … Read More

The value of a hay bale is determined by a complex set of supply and demand factors, said Scott Clawson, Oklahoma State University Extension Agricultural Economist. Writing for the Cow-Calf Corner, Clawson said cattle producers could say that hay, especially in drought conditions, is an essential item for the cow herd.  Thus, it will be … Read More

Cattle slaughter through the end of February was lower than last year, which was not a surprise given the tighter inventories, said Will Secor, Extension livestock economist at the University of Georgia, in a letter for the Livestock Marketing Information Center. However, two developments have emerged, Secor said.  First, the distribution of the cattle being … Read More

A larger-than-expected US corn acreage forecast didn’t seem to bother futures traders much as the crop still was seen as a profitable venture for farmers, said Matthew Diersen, risk and business management specialist at South Dakota State University. Writing for the Livestock Marketing Information Center, Diersen said, “expectations for higher profits from corn related to … Read More

Large commodity index funds expanded their collective net long live cattle futures position in the week ended Tuesday as traders with strong cash-market ties lengthened their total net short position, according to Friday’s weekly Commitments of Traders report. The report came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission telling of the positions of different classes of … Read More

The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1, was down from last quarter and from a year ago as the number of market hogs declined, according to the USDA’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report Thursday.   HOG INVENTORY DOWN   The US hog herd totaled 74.512 million head on March 1, down … Read More

This month’s 2024/25 USDA/Economic Research Service US Coarse Grains Outlook called for a slight reduction in supplies, with greater declines in use, lifting ending stocks by nearly 0.5 million short tons. The March Feed Outlook report said, based on import volumes to date, 2024/25 barley and oats import forecasts were lowered by 1 and 5 … Read More