Kansas feedlot sales to packers, or closeouts, in December moved higher as expected, continuing the general trend of following the 2016 monthly pace. The Kansas State Extension Service polls select feedlots around the state each month for data concerning the prior month’s activities, and the Livestock Marketing Information Center extrapolates and graphs the data to … Read More

Managed money, or large commodity investment firms, pared their net long live cattle position during the week ended Tuesday, said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in its weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday. Managed money’s new net long live cattle position totaled 102,549 contracts Tuesday, down 729, or 0.71%, from 103,278 the previous Tuesday.  This … Read More

Average cattle feeding margins for fed cattle sold to packers last week were a positive $173.81 a head, down $32.34, or 15.7%, from $206.15 a week earlier, according to the Sterling Profit Tracker and published in Drovers. The new average profit level for unhedged feedlots last week also was down $77.51 a head, or 30.8%, … Read More

US butcher hog prices are below last year and appear to be ready to follow 2017 trends, albeit at a lower price level. US butcher hog prices are struggling along with the pork cutout as year-to-date pork production advances, and they may have trouble holding last year’s and 2012-2016 average levels, according to USDA Market … Read More

Growing Japanese demand for red meats and flat production levels of beef and pork are expected to drive the market there this year, said the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Services/Tokyo in a published report that was not an official USDA report. Japanese beef and pork production remained flat last year as slightly heavier carcass weights offset … Read More

The animal protein sector is preparing for the 2018 grilling season, and pork and beef supplies, together with weather conditions over coming months, will determine the path of least resistance for both, said Andrew Hecht, author of the “Hecht Report” on Seeking Alpha. Memorial Day weekend marks the official start of the grilling season, the … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, called managed money, had a new, higher net long live cattle futures position as of Tuesday of 103,278 contracts, the largest since Tuesday, Dec. 5, said the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC made the announcement in its weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday.  Managed money’s new cattle position was the … Read More