Large commodity index funds, known as managed money, extended their live cattle futures selling spree to 16 weeks in the week ended last Tuesday, Dec. 26, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The CFTC’s weekly Commitments of Traders report Friday also reported that cattle hedgers reduced their total live cattle net short … Read More

The beef hide and offal value continues to decline as edible by-product values dropped faster than hides, which comprise the bulk of the total value. The hide and offal value often is called the drop credit.  It is composed of the total value of all parts that “drop,” or are cut, off of the carcass, … Read More

Bear spreading was the rule of the day in lean hog futures trading following Friday’s release from the USDA of its Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. The report showed more pigs were being saved per litter and that some gilts that might have gone for breeding could instead be fed for slaughter.  Negative margins have … Read More

Total red meat supplies in US freezers on Nov. 30 were down about 2% from the previous month and down about 11% from last year, said the USDA’s monthly Cold Storage report Friday. Total pounds of beef in freezers were up about 2% from the previous month but down about 13% from last year. Frozen … Read More

Live cattle futures investors may be missing an important point contained within Friday’s USDA Cattle on Feed report, said a market analyst after the report was released. Narciso Perez, owner of Zia Ag Consultants in Albuquerque, NM, said it was apparent that cattle are stacking up in the feedlots.  But while ample supplies of fed … Read More

Going into the end of the year, it will be important for cow/calf producers and backgrounders to pay attention to feeder cattle market direction, said Andrew Griffith, agricultural economist at the University of Tennessee in a market letter. Price action the last week of December can point to action in January, Griffith said.   PRICES … Read More

Lower live cattle futures prices have been discouraging cattle owners from locking in prices using forward contracts or futures, said Matthew Diersen, risk and business management specialist at South Dakota State University in a Livestock Marketing Information Center letter called In The Cattle Markets. Pasture forage or water can run low.  Other feed supplies may … Read More