Live and feeder cattle futures shot limit up the last two trading sessions based on lighter-than-expected feedlot populations, but no other major fundamental factor has changed for either market. Supplies continue to outpace demand, cash prices for cattle and beef continue to fall, and post-holiday, winter demand typically is lackluster.  Red meat production also is … Read More

Managed money increased its net long position in cattle for the fourth straight week, rising to 15,410 contracts from 12,310 the previous week, according to Commodity Futures Trading Commission data. The weekly Commitments of Traders report released Friday for the week ended Tuesday said the new net long position of managed money, or large speculators, … Read More

It seems consumers are becoming more schizophrenic about their meat and poultry purchasing.  On the one hand, they are willing to pay more for meat and poultry, but on the other, they seem to be angling toward less expensive products. Oklahoma State University’s monthly Food Demand Survey showed consumers were willing to pay more for … Read More

It seems livestock and poultry producers can’t get away from antibiotic use totally as the US Food and Drug Administration last week released data showing last year’s antibiotic use rose with the populations of cattle and hogs. The “2014 Summary Report on Antimicrobials Sold or Distributed for Use in Food-Producing Animals” shows domestic sales and … Read More

Wholesale cow beef cutout values have dropped sharply since mid-September as prices for fed beef failed to live up to expectations and feedlot losses reached epic proportions. Prices for cow beef held very steady this year at around $230 per cwt, but began to fall away in early July.  A graph shows that prices crossed … Read More

At least one agricultural economist says cattle market fundamentals this year haven’t changed nearly as much as the current volatility would suggest and that a change to general prosperity is a matter of changing market psychology. However, predicting that market change is almost impossible, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension Livestock Marketing Specialist in … Read More

Large speculators, or managed money, increased their net long live cattle positions during the week ended Tuesday, even though futures prices were plummeting. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in its weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday for the week ended Tuesday, said managed money’s net long cattle position was 12,310 contracts, an increase of 3,954, … Read More