Choice grade wholesale beef prices are bumping against all-time record highs near $160 per cwt but lack the push to get and stay above the resistance. It can be argued that it’s too soon in the year to expect prices to make a serious run at the record, but statistics show that average prices (2009-2013) … Read More

As the grilling season heats up, wholesale beef prices are sending mixed signals about what is going on those grills. Beef’s role as a lead grilling product seems secure for now, especially with bird flu necessitating the euthanasia of millions of chickens and turkeys.  But prices for competing grilling items continue to rise, suggesting some … Read More

Cattle traders and producers are having a difficult time coming to terms with a market outlook for the rest of 2015 because of unusual market conditions and incentives, a well-known Extension economist says. Derrell Peel, agricultural economist at Oklahoma State University said extremes in market conditions and behavior are clouding the picture. The latest Cattle-on-Feed … Read More

Managed money, or fund investors, boosted their net long positions in live cattle futures during the week ended Tuesday to 78,490 contracts, the largest since the week ended Jan 13 when it was 81,345. Fund investment rose 6,508 contracts, or 9.15%, from 71,092 the previous week.  Their net long position dipped a week earlier as … Read More

Kansas State University’s All Fresh Beef Demand Index estimates first-quarter beef demand rose 15.5%, the largest quarterly increase since the index’s inception in 1990.  This indicates rising beef demand could underpin beef and cattle prices in spite of growing pork and chicken supplies. In economist circles, actual demand is difficult to assess or quantify since … Read More

Packer margins further into positive territory week, while feedlot margins continued to sink, falling to a loss of more than $200 a head. The weekly Sterling Beef Profit Tracker published by AgWeb said packers last week cleared about $64.79 a head, a jump from a positive $28.41 the previous week.  However, a month ago, packers … Read More

Cattle traders’ ideas of what the cash fed cattle market will do this week have gone from lower, to steady/weak to no worse than steady as slaughter rates remained strong for a second week. Cumulative slaughter through Tuesday was estimated at 220,000 head, the same as last week but behind last year’s 235,000.  Last week … Read More