If livestock and poultry producers thought the blending of ethanol into fuel would stop at 10% of gasoline consumed, leaving them with the rest of the corn market, they were mistaken. The current Environmental Protection Agency mandate for ethanol production pierces that “blend wall,” the point at which further concentrations begin to harm many engines … Read More

In mid-summer, cow/calf producers must start making “keep or cull” decisions with their cow herds. Cull cows come to market throughout the year, but prices are seasonally lowest in the fall. Lower prices for cull cows this year have been lower and tracking the 2010-2014 average because of an increased supply. This year the US … Read More

Managed money, or large commodity investment funds, boosted their net long live cattle futures position during the week ended Tuesday for the third straight week.  At the same time, cash-oriented traders increased their net short positions for the second straight week. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission revealed the numbers Friday in its weekly Commitments of … Read More

For the moment, live cattle futures are in an uptrend, but there are warning signs that point to a possible reversal of fortune for bullishly construed traders. The most-active Oct contract is nearing some trendline resistance points, and Thursday’s lower close suggests a resumption of lower-trending markets. The fact that today is Friday and the … Read More

Record-large red meat and poultry production during the first six months of the year likely was not met with record-large per-person disappearance, said the Livestock Marketing Information Center in its weekly Livestock Monitor. Adding in LMIC projections of imports and exports for June, estimated per-person disappearance of red meat and poultry for the first six … Read More

The difference between cash cattle markets and the nearby Aug futures contract is very wide, making convergence before the contract expires on Aug. 31 more difficult. Something has to give.  Either futures have to rise, or cash prices have to decline before expiration to get the two into close proximity by expiration. The difference is … Read More

Bullish inferences from Friday’s monthly Cattle-On-Feed report Monday overrode any bearish implications from the monthly Cold Storage report, taking several contract months up the daily limit of $300 per cwt. The report showed total pounds of beef in US freezers as of July 1 was up 5.15 million pounds, or 1.15% from June 1 at … Read More