As 2025 wraps up, there still is little indication of significant heifer retention by cow/calf operators for herd rebuilding, although some retention may be beginning slowly, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Extension livestock market specialist, in a letter called Cow-Calf Corner.   SMALLEST BEEF REPLACEMENT INVENTORY EVER   The July USDA Cattle (Inventory) report … Read More

As the year winds down, the weekly average difference between wholesale prices for USDA choice and select grades of beef is narrowing, reaching its smallest spread for 2025 in the last full week of the year. And the outlook is for even more narrowing of the choice/select spread in the first couple of months in … Read More

As it continues to catch up with past reports that were delayed by the government shutdown, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s latest Commitments of Traders report detailed the trading stance of large commodity index funds and cash cattle traders.   MANAGED MONEY BOOSTS NET LONG CATTLE POSITION   In the latest report outlining trader stances … Read More

The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on Dec. 1 was up from a year earlier, even as the breeding herd decreased, the USDA said in its December Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report.   SWINE HERD GROWS   The US inventory of all hogs and pigs on Dec. 1 was 75.545 million head, up … Read More

Total red meat supplies in US freezers on Nov. 30 were up about 1% from the previous month but down about 5% from last year, according to the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report Tuesday. Total stocks of chicken were up slightly from the previous month and up about 1% from last year, the report said. … Read More

Feedlot sales of slaughter-ready cattle to beef packers from Kansas feedlots in October dropped seasonally and steer sales may have set the second lowest point in the year. The information was reported by the Livestock Marketing Information Center in Denver and was derived from data collected by the Kansas State University Extension service.  The Extension … Read More

As the dust settles on Friday’s December USDA Cattle on Feed report, industry consultant Nevil Speer said in an email that the report was “the definitive statement of slow placements.” Speer advised a strong risk-management strategy for cattle producers and growers to protect the investment equity. “Nothing really changes,” he said.  “Until it does (and … Read More