Market News

Midday cash livestock markets

Another slow start to the day for direct cash cattle trade activity.  Bids and asking prices remain slow to surface.  Showlists this week are mixed, lower in Texas and Kansas, but higher in Nebraska and Colorado.  It’s likely significant trade volume is going to hold out until at least midweek or later, especially with Friday’s Cattle On Feed report from the UDSA.

Boxed beef is mixed at midday with light demand for moderate offerings.  Choice is $.02 higher at $288.95 and Select is $.30 lower at $263.42.  The Choice/Select spread is $25.53.

At the Joplin Regional Stockyards in Missouri, feeder steers were $7 to $18 higher.  Feeder heifers were $5 to $17 higher.  The UDSA says supply was heavy with very good demand.  Receipts were up on the week and the year.  Feeder supply included 66% steers and 76% of the offering was over 600 pounds.  Medium and Large 1 feeder steers 700 to 748 pounds brought $210.50 to $244 and feeder steers 851 to 891 pounds brought $213 to $228.  Medium and Large 1 feeder heifers 501 to 545 pounds brought $219 to $240 and feeder heifers 707 to 739 pounds brought $206 to $224.50.

Cash hogs are higher at midday with relatively light negotiated purchases.  The cash hog market has struggled to find any consistent upside potential.  There are a couple of factors coming into play – one is the plentiful supplies of market-ready hogs, the other is the production efficiency.  Both help give packers the upper hand, allowing them to do business as they please.  Processors are getting a bit more aggressive in their procurement efforts at the start of the week, having to bid up to move needed numbers.  The industry is also looking ahead to Friday’s Quarterly Hogs and Pigs report. Barrows and gilts at the National Daily Direct are $.88 higher with a base range of $41 to $54 and a weighted average of $50.29; no comparisons at the Iowa/Minnesota but a weighted average of $50.29; the Western Corn Belt is $1.83 higher with a weighted average of $50.29.  Prices at the Eastern Corn Belt were not reported due to confidentiality. 

Butcher hog prices at the Midwest cash markets are steady at $44. At Illinois, slaughter sow prices are $2 lower with moderate demand for heavy offerings at $28 to $40.  Barrows and gilts were $2 lower with moderate demand for moderate offerings at $25 to $35.  Boars ranged from $10 to $20 and $5 to $10.

Pork values were lower at midday – down $1.03 at $82.94.  Bellies were sharply lower.  Butts were also lower.  Hams, picnics, loins, and ribs were all higher.