US calf and yearling prices are similar to a year ago after rebounding strongly from the dismal prices of October and November last year amid stronger-than-expected fed cattle prices and feedlot profits. In the Southern Plains, yearling prices (700- to 800-pound steers) averaged below a year earlier during the first three months of 2017 and … Read More

Kansas feedlots sold more cattle to beef packers in June than they did in May, but totals moved still remained below last year, according to data collected by Kansas State University. The KSU Extension Service collects feedlot data from selected feedlots.  The data then is extrapolated to give a representative view of the whole state, … Read More

Wider use of evidence-based food safety interventions on farms and feedlots would reduce significantly the risk of people getting sick from contaminated meat and poultry, says a report by the Pew Charitable Trusts. The report, “Food Safety From Farm to Fork,” examined potential means to prevent foodborne illnesses by investing in strategies to control Salmonella, … Read More

Large commodity investment funds, called managed money, continued to trim its net long live cattle futures position during the week ended Tuesday as commercial traders stayed with their pattern of lightening their net short position. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in its weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday that managed money’s new net long … Read More

Cash and futures fed cattle prices just might be putting in a summer low, but it would take a look at the futures market to tell. Cash fed cattle prices this week traded about $3 per cwt below last week, setting a low for the year at $117-ish.  For the last 1 ½ months, the … Read More

US cattle feeders must continue to market fed cattle to packers aggressively or they risk having to deal with too many cattle that weigh too much. The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service last week issued its monthly Cattle on Feed report, which showed feedlot placements of calves in June at 1.770 million head, about 16% … Read More

The USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service this week began enhancing its livestock mandatory reporting for cattle by publishing a new Weekly Fed Cattle Comprehensive Report and revising the National Weekly Direct Slaughter Cattle report. The cattle industry has seen a significant shift from traditional negotiated transactions to alternative marketing arrangements like formula pricing over the past … Read More