It appears that US feedlots are working down their unusually large inventory of heavy fed cattle. The latest USDA Cattle-On-Feed report showed cattle placed on feed still are biased toward the heavy side so average slaughter weights in coming months likely will be heavier than normal, according to USDA data. But cattle slaughter is up … Read More

Many long-term students of retail meat and poultry prices and consumption feel that pork does not compete with beef at the retail counter as well as chicken. That seems like heresy to some, but many analysts swear it’s true, so it pays to take a look at the feathered version of the meat counter now … Read More

Managed money, a term for large investment funds, reduced their net long position in live cattle futures during the week ended Tuesday, taking it to its lowest since the week ended March 1. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday reported that for the week, managed money reduced its net long live cattle position to 23,537 … Read More

As cattle feeders struggle to maintain some semblance of profitability and cow/calf producers continue to build their cow herds, competing meat availability remains a constant concern. In both cases, export markets are key to lively markets and the reduction in the availability of competing meats in the US.  Disease remains an issue with pork and … Read More

The value of the often overlooked byproducts of beef and pork slaughter is rising seasonally, but this return on investment to beef packers is about to reach a seasonal leveling point. “Byproduct,” “drop value,” “drop credit” and “offal” all refer to the same products and represent an important revenue source for packers.  Aggregate values for … Read More

It looks like market fundamentals have little to do with feeder cattle futures price movements, making it necessary for cow/calf producers to be more savvy about marketing their calves, said a university agricultural economist in a weekly comment. Andrew Griffith, extension agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee, added, “The futures market is supposed to … Read More

Cattle prices currently are a function of packer margins, which the Livestock Marketing Information Center calculates to be some of the widest in some time. Last year at this time, packers were losing money, which is typical for the season, said LMIC director and senior agricultural economist Jim Robb.  This year, they appear to be … Read More