The 2015 outlook for Canada’s livestock industries remains unchanged in that the cattle herd will continue to decline while the hog herd grows moderately. Prior to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistical Service’s release of the US and Canadian Jan. 1 livestock numbers today, the USDA’s Foreign Agriculture Service issued its semi-annual outlook.  Statistics in the … Read More

Farmers in California’s Central Valley will go without reservoir water for the second straight year this year, likely forcing more cattle producers to liquidate more of their herds. The January USDA Cattle Inventory Report showed an overall rise in US cattle numbers as of Jan. 1, but the California herd, at 5.150 million head, was … Read More

Wholesale prices for beef may have begun a seasonal turn higher last week, but Monday’s USDA cutout prices could make traders think this year’s turn toward spring highs could resemble the average rather than last year. Last year, USDA weekly cutout values for choice boxed beef rose sharply in March and the first half of … Read More

Managed money and cattle producers almost left their net futures positions unchanged during the week ended Tuesday as prices declined and open interest rose. A declining market with rising open interest confirms a downward trend until the shorts begin to cover their positions in earnest, according to Open Interest Analysis by Farnsfield Research.  Wednesday through Friday … Read More

All retail meat prices except turkey set new monthly highs in January, and the outlook is for beef to remain strong while other meats decline as production increases. Statistics from the Bureau of Labor and the USDA’s Economic Research Service show the average retail price for all fresh beef in January was $6.00 a pound, … Read More

It looks like spot market boxed beef cutout values are turning higher, and it’s right on schedule, which should be good news to packers who are thought to have been operating in the red for months now. A Livestock Marketing Information Center’s graph on weekly choice beef carcass prices turned higher last week, and this … Read More

The spread between wholesale prices for choice and select beef is following the seasonal path downward, even if it remains above average. A graph of the choice/select spread for the year to date shows the spread starting out above the average and then mirroring the seasonal move lower.  The latest weekly choice/select spread was at … Read More