5-1-24 – Managed money, a proxy for large commodity index funds, enlarged their collective net long live cattle futures position during the week ended Tuesday while cattle hedgers cut their total net short position. The information came from the weekly Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday.  It chronicles the relative … Read More

Live cattle futures continue to march higher, but the market could use some bullish fundamental news to keep the rally going. Ninety percent lean trimmings remain strong, and 50% lean beef isn’t doing badly, but other cuts are showing signs of lagging.   BOXED BEEF FIRM WITH CRACKS   The weekly choice boxed beef cutout … Read More

Total beef production through the first week of June was 10.6 billion pounds, down 2.0% from last year, said Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University agricultural economist in an Extension service letter called Cow-Calf Corner. That follows a 4.7% reduction in 2023 beef production from record 2022 levels, Peel said.  Cattle slaughter in the first 21 … Read More

Total red meat supplies in freezers on May 31 were down about 3% from the previous month and down about 5% from last year, the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said in its monthly Cold Storage report Tuesday. Total frozen poultry supplies were up about 3% from the previous month but down about 5% from … Read More

During the week ended last Tuesday, June 18, large commodity index funds, known as managed money, expanded their collective net long live cattle position, while hedgers added to their total net short position. The data came from the Commitments of Traders report from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which usually is published on Fridays but … Read More

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is not calling for extreme measures to prevent infection just yet.  It considers the risk to be low. A CDC report said the CDC “considers the current risk to the US public from A(H5N1) virus infection amidst the ongoing US outbreak of A(H5N1) viruses to be low; however, … Read More

First-quarter farm debt at commercial banks continued to grow at a steady pace from the year prior, boosted by a substantial increase in farm operating debt, said Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank economists Francisco Scott and Ty Kreitman, in a Bank release. The growth in real estate debt remained robust but down from the peaks … Read More