Ending a five-week push to a longer live cattle net long position, large investment funds lowered their exposure during the week ended Tuesday, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said. For the week ended Tuesday, the CFTC said Friday managed money, a proxy for those funds, lowered their net long live cattle position to 32,844 contracts … Read More

The spread between wholesale choice and select beef prices is widening as beef demand expands.  It’s even doing so at a time when the spread normally is making its annual low. Last week’s choice/select spread widened to $10.16 from $8.78 the previous week, and the spread widened $6.00 in just three weeks.  This may have … Read More

Overall 2016 beef export possibilities are improving as USDA Foreign Agricultural Service reports predict decreased production in several countries. However, the picture isn’t all rosy.  Red meat production in Brazil was expected to increase while domestic consumption was expected to decline.   FIRST, THE GOOD NEWS   “US beef is poised to reclaim lost market … Read More

Extreme market swings of the last couple of years provided enough volatility to make many cattle producers and feeders jumpy. Prices rose to record highs and then fell into a dive the likes of which many have never seen.  Factors such as cattle inventory, competing meat production, rising slaughter weights and international trade were all … Read More

Canadian cattle inventory numbers from Statistics Canada show the beef breeding herd increased slightly year-over-year on higher heifer retention rates. Stats Can said beef heifers kept for herd replacement purposes were up 3.95%, or 20,800 head, to 547,300 from 526,500.  This was the first heifer inventory increase since 2013 when it went to 542,000 from … Read More

The US hog market was not shocked to see the numbers in Friday’s USDA Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report.  The numbers appear to be very close to industry estimates, and much of the information may already be baked into the market. The inventory of all hogs and pigs on March 1 was 67.6 million head, … Read More

With all of the fanfare surrounding the historic visit of President Obama to Cuba and his meeting with President Raul Castro, a group of U.S. farmers only saw one thing: a chance to export more chicken to the island state just down the pond from Miami. U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and his ag contingent … Read More