No relevant trade developed last week up to midday Thursday. Bids of $120 live surfaced in Texas on Wednesday, but no trade developed as cattle feeders stuck to their offers of $125-126 live and $193-194 dressed. Trade was expected to crop up late in the week at steady to higher prices compared to the prior week’s $122-123 live and $188-190 dressed.

No real market trend was evident in the cash fed cattle trade by midday Thursday last week. Bids trailed asking prices by $2-3. Offers of $122- 123 live were seen in the South Plains and $188-190 dressed in the Corn Belt, with some even as high as $192.

The most recent Cold Storage report shows stocks of total red meat and poultry in cold storage as of July 31 at 2.24 billion pounds (bp). Of that, beef represented roughly 20 percent at 455.74 million pounds (mp). When compared to the previous report, beef in cold storage dropped 3 percent but increased in its portion of overall red meat storage.

Cash fed cattle markets were slow to develop last week with minimal activity occurring through Thursday morning. Not enough trade occurred in the first half of the week to establish an accurate market test. Expectations existed of serious trade developing on later Thursday and Friday at $1-2 above the prior week’s levels.

The August USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report came out Friday, Aug. 10. The report showed beef production up compared to prior projections, but still down compared to prior years. It also predicted the U.S. will become a net importer of beef by 2013.

Very little relevant trade developed in the cash fed markets last week with most activity expected to develop late Thursday and Friday. Markets were inactive through early Wednesday whereupon some slight trade occurred in Iowa at $185 dressed.

No relevant trade had developed in the cash fed markets through the early part of the week. By midday Thursday, only a handful of regional trades had occurred, and none of them enough to set market trend. Bids of $113 live in the south and $180 dressed in the Corn Belt trailed asking prices by $3-5.

Cash live cattle trade surfaced unusually early last week, with most activity on Tuesday and some cleanup trade on Wednesday. Early trade on Tuesday went for $111-113 live in the south and $112-113 live, $178-180 dressed in the north. Later-day Tuesday and cleanup trades generally went for $1 lower than earlier numbers.

The live cattle cash trade was nonexistent with bids trailing asking prices by $6 and more. In the Southern Plains, packers hoping to regain some lost margins bid $114 but were ignored by feeders who held firm at $120 live asking prices. In the Northern Plains, asking prices were $190 dressed.

last week and an 8 percent five-year average. “Silking reached 25 percent, meaning the crop continues to suffer through hot, dry conditions during critical maturation,” Sanow said. “This, combined with the worsening condition ratings, point to a national yield well below USDA’s 166 bushels per acre (bpa),.