Live cattle futures climbed higher throughout the week, but plummeted Thursday afternoon. Thursday brought losses of several dollars, although both contracts were still higher than the Friday earlier. The June live cattle contract closed at $120.10 and the August contract at $121.10.
“With boxed beef prices lower, it came as quite the surprise to see cash cattle prices higher let alone steady, so seeing the slight weakness through Thursday’s trade isn’t baffling given that the market wasn’t even expected to perform as well as it has over the last week,” remarked ShayLe Stewart, DTN livestock analyst.
Cash trade finally picked up some momentum last week, pulling out of the $118-120 mark we have been seeing over the past couple months. Live steers sold in the $121-125 range, while dressed steers averaged between $193-196, but reached as high as $200 on Thursday.
Cash trade for the week ending June 11 totaled 98,467 head. Live steers averaged $119.98 and dressed steers averaged $190.81, a few pennies higher, respectively, compared to the week prior. Formula cattle continue to trade in the mid-$190s range.
The Fed Cattle Exchange offered 6,049 head Wednesday, of which 1,006 head sold. Heifers averaged $121.65, steers averaged $121.22 and mixed lots averaged $119.25. The bulk of the sold cattle came from the Texas/Oklahoma/New Mexico region; out of the 5,710 head offered, 971 head sold. The remaining 35 head sold came from Kansas’ offering of 339 head. Opening bids ranged from $118-120 and high bids reached $122.50.
Slaughter through Thursday totaled 477,000 head, on trend with the same time the week prior. Slaughter through June 12 totaled 665,000 head, reaching the level experts are recommending to keep up with summer demand. For the most part this summer, this level has been unattainable. However, slaughter through June 19 may be the second week in a row the level was reached.
USDA actual slaughter data reported slaughter through the first week of June reached a dismal 544,132 head, thanks to the holiday and JBS cyberattack.
Boxed beef prices look like they may have reached their summer high. Over a week’s time, the cutouts have dropped dramatically, with the Select cutout finally back under $300. On Thursday, the Choice cutout was down $12 from a week earlier to $326.25 and the Select cutout was down over $23 to $287.24. The Choice-Select spread is still very high at $39.01—one of the highest levels in history.
In other markets-related news, producers have made their voices heard and the Senate
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry will host a hearing over market transparency and cattle prices on Wednesday, June 23 at 2:30 p.m., ET. A live recording of the hearing can be found at www.agriculture.senate.gov under the “Hearings” tab.
Feeder cattle
Pre-Cattle on Feed report estimates anticipate June to have slightly higher cattle on feed numbers and 5 percent lower placements compared to last year. Marketings are expected to be over 20 percent higher.
Feeder cattle contracts made gains throughout the week, but were in the red by Thursday afternoon. However, the losses were by dimes instead of dollars. The August contract closed at $157.40 and the September contract at $159.10, still up about $6, respectively, from the week prior. The CME Feeder Cattle Index gained a couple dollars over the week, closing at $141.28.
Corn took a major hit Thursday, reaching limit down on all contracts. The July contract closed at $6.33 and the September contract at $5.48.
“Good moisture in many areas has increased the interest in light cattle that are in diminishing supply,” the Cattle Report said. “The cattle complex has been promising producers better prices in the future for a long time but the mirage disappears with each new marketing period. This week the rally in replacement prices seems real and is likely to be sustained.”
Superior Livestock Auction hosted their Corn Belt Classic sale Thursday out of South Sioux City, NE, offering over 51,000 head. Stewart noted that after this sale, cattlemen will have a better idea of what the feeder cattle market could offer this fall.
Olsen Ranch, located just south of Lewistown, MT, sold a lot of 280 steer calves weighing 745 lbs. for $167 for October delivery. The calves were out of black Angus and black Angus-Simmental crosses and had received VAC 34+, Alpha 7, Vision 7 with Spur and Express 5, Express 5 One Shot, and Vision 7 Somnus vaccinations.
Brackett Ranches out of Jordan Valley, OR, sold 96 feeder steers weighing 625 lbs. for $198 for June 21-24 delivery. Calves were out of black, black-white face, and a few red cows and black Angus bulls. They were Superior Verified and had received VAC 45 and VAC PRECON, three rounds of Vision 7 Spur, Pyramid 5+Presponse, and Multimin.
Kansas: Winter Livestock in Dodge City sold 935 head Wednesday. Compared to the last sale, feeder steers 650-1,000 lbs. sold $4-6 higher. Feeder steers 600-800 lbs. sold $4-5 higher and 800-850 lbs. sold $10 higher. Benchmark steers averaging 747 lbs. sold between $147.25-147.50.
Missouri: Joplin Regional Stockyards in Carthage sold 4,947 head Monday. Compared to the prior sale, feeder steers under 650 lbs. sold $2-4 lower while steers over 650 lbs. sold steady to $3 higher. Feeder heifers under 500 lbs. sold $2-4 lower while over 500 lbs. traded steady. Benchmark steers averaging 786 lbs. sold between $141-146.
Montana: Miles City Livestock in Miles City sold 921 head on Tuesday. Compared to the previous auction, steers and heifers were all too lightly tested to develop any market trend. Demand mainly was moderate for very light offerings. A small group of steers averaging 760 lbs. sold between $127-133.
New Mexico: Roswell Livestock in Roswell sold 927 head Monday. Compared to the previous week, steers 400-600 lbs. were mostly steady on limited comparable quotes; heifers 400-600 lbs. sold $3 higher. Feeder steers and heifers over 600 lbs. sold mostly steady to $5 higher. A small group of benchmark steers averaging 619 lbs. sold between $161-164.
Oklahoma: Oklahoma National Stockyards in Oklahoma City sold 10,500 head. Compared to the week prior, feeder steers sold $4-7 higher, with instances of up to $10 higher. Feeder heifers sold $4-6 higher. Steer calves sold $4-6 higher while heifer calves sold $4-8 lower. Benchmark steers averaging 784 lbs. sold between $134-149.
South Dakota: Sioux Falls Regional Cattle Auction in Worthing sold 3,299 head Monday. Compared to the last sale, steers and heifers sold $2-6 higher with the exception of 650-700-lb. steers selling $4-6 lower. Steers 750-800 lbs. sold $8-10 higher and heifers 700-750 lbs. sold $9-10 higher. Benchmark steers averaging 770 lbs. sold between $143.10-147.50. — Anna Miller, WLJ managing editor
