Large commodity index funds, known as managed money, reduced their collective net long live cattle position during the week ended last Tuesday, July 18.  Cattle owners, called commercial traders, trimmed their total net short position. The data came from the weekly Commitments of Traders report by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Friday.   FUNDS LIQUIDATE … Read More

OK.  It’s official. The US cattle herd continues to shrink.  The USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service said so Friday. The USDA’s semi-annual Cattle (Inventory) report was released Friday along with the monthly Cattle on Feed report, which stole the limelight from the Cattle report because few, if any, in the cattle industry thought there would … Read More

Canadian cattle on feed numbers continued to decline seasonally in July, falling between last year and the 2017-2021 average, according to data from CanFax, a private market advisory service. Further declines are possible into Sep. 1. CanFax surveys its feedlot members monthly and releases the on-feed and placement numbers for Alberta and Saskatchewan to the … Read More

Since January, USDA cattle slaughter data has indicated a 12% decline in beef cow slaughter, said the National Agricultural Statistics Service’s Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Outlook for July. That likely was a combination of improving pasture conditions, sufficient reductions in animal units per acre on poorer pastures and the prospect of improved profitability from selling … Read More

The last two weeks have seen the wholesale price spread between USDA-graded choice and select carcasses narrow, and while this is a seasonal move, there are some differences this year. The choice/select price narrowing is seasonal because the percentage of choice and select carcasses tend to shift as carcass weights decline in summer’s heat.  The … Read More

The outlook for global meat trade remained relatively unchanged from the April forecast, the USDA said in its Livestock and Poultry: World Markets and Trade report. Beef and chicken meat exports were not revised significantly while pork was raised about 2% from the last forecast, the report said.   BRAZIL EXPORTS GROWING   However, Brazil … Read More

Large commodity index funds, called managed money, increased their collective net long live cattle futures position during the trading week ended Tuesday, while cattle owners expanded their total net short position. The data came from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in its weekly Commitments of Traders report.  Tuesday’s data was compared with the previous Monday’s … Read More