Thursday markets
Both live and feeder cattle contracts plunged lower under continued selling pressure.
Live cattle futures closed lower, with the December contract $1.75 lower to close at $218.80, and the February contract down $1.37 to $216.72.
Cash trade was moderate, with 3,576 head sold. Live steers sold between $228-230, and dressed steers sold for $355.
On the formula side, 37,300 head averaging 952 lbs. sold for an average of $373.03.
“Yesterday’s negotiated cash fed cattle trade was a huge 64k head and the 5-area average price $228.96/cwt,” wrote Cassie Fish, market analyst, in The Beef. “That’s $1.90 less than last week and the cheapest 5-area average price since May 2025.
“Iowa sold 24k cattle with an average price of $227.87, and Nebraska was right behind them at 22k head, averaging $229.91. Texas traded a little over 4k head at $232, while Kansas barely topped 1k head sold. Northern cattle are being hauled south to cover plant needs in Kansas and Texas.”
Today’s slaughter is estimated to be 112,000 head, 2,000 head below a week earlier.
Boxed beef prices were mixed on 129 loads, with the Choice cutout down 29 cents to $377.97 and the Select cutout 51 cents higher to $360.76.
“The rib is having a ho-hum weekly performance and the overall tone in the beef trade is lackluster,” Fish wrote. “Wholesale beef buyers don’t want to get caught paying up too much with futures and cash fed cattle prices falling. This despite estimates for a 560k to 565k head slaughter this week, which would be up slightly from last week, but still dramatically below a year ago’s 621k.”
Feeder cattle
Feeder cattle futures also closed lower, with the November contract $3.67 lower to close at $322.05 and the January contract down $4.37 to $315.60.
The CME Feeder Cattle Index was up $2.63 to $349.42.
Corn futures closed lower, with the December and March contracts down 6 cents to $4.28 and $4.42, respectively.
Kansas: Winter Livestock in Dodge City sold 2,526 head on Wednesday. Compared to the last auction, steers and heifers sold $5-20 lower across all weight brackets. Benchmark steers averaging 740 lbs. sold for $345-357, averaging $356.65.
Nebraska: Huss Livestock in Kearney sold 2,198 head on Wednesday. Compared to the previous auction, steer calves 500-700 lbs. sold steady to $15 lower and heifer calves 400-600 lbs. sold steady to $25 lower. A lot of steers averaging 701 lbs. sold for $333.
Oklahoma: OKC West in El Reno sold 4,611 head on Wednesday. Compared to the previous auction, feeder steers over 850 lbs. sold $5-10 higher, and under 850 lbs. traded $12-20 lower. Feeder heifers sold $8-10 lower. Benchmark steers averaging 780 lbs. sold for $315-334 and averaged $326.98.
South Dakota: Hub City Livestock in Aberdeen sold 3,011 head on Wednesday. Compared to the last auction, yearling cattle were too lightly tested today for comparison. Steer calves 500-599 lbs. sold $20 lower, with instances up to $40 lower on 550-599 lbs., 600-649 lbs. were mostly steady, and 650-699 lbs. traded $6-8 lower. Benchmark steers averaging 711 lbs. sold for $366-380.50, averaging $377.93. — Charles Wallace, WLJ contributing editor
