Odds are increasing for higher cash fed cattle prices this week. Supportive factors include likely slaughter levels, the bounce higher in Cattle futures and early trade signals.
For instance, slaughter steers and heifers traded mostly steady at Sioux Falls Regional Livestock in South Dakota on Wednesday. Choice 2-3 steers brought $119-$121/cwt. at 1401-1487 lbs.
Similarly, there were no sales at the weekly Fed Cattle Exchange Auction on Wednesday with 637 head (five lots) offered.
As for country trade, it remained at a standstill in the Northern Plains and Southern Plains through Wednesday afternoon; very inactive on very light demand in the western Corn Belt.
Although lower day to day, wholesale beef values maintained higher levels week to week.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.00 lower on Wednesday afternoon at $201.60/cwt. Select was 41¢ lower at $190.42.
All of that helped Cattle futures mostly maintain gains from the previous session, although they closed narrowly mixed.
Live Cattle futures closed narrowly mixed, from 47¢ lower to 52¢ higher.
Except for fractionally lower in a couple of mid-board contracts, Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 47¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices edged higher on Wednesday amid light trade.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 28 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 2 points higher. The NASDAQ closed 3 points higher.
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Total adult cattle (heavier than 500 lbs.) and calf death losses on beef operations was valued at $2.24 billion in 2015, according to a recent report from the National Animal Health Monitoring Service (NAHMS). The same year, total cattle and calf death losses were valued at $3.87 billion. That equates to right at $43 per head for the 89.8 million head inventory (all cattle and calves) on Jan. 1 that year.
Almost 3.9 million cattle and calves were lost to all causes in 2015—1.74 million adult cattle and 2.14 million calves. That was about 2% death loss for adult cattle and 6.2% death loss for calves.
For beef operations, specifically, non-predator causes accounted for $1.52 billion in total lost value for adult cattle. Predators accounted for another $592 million in lost value.
Old age was the leading non-predator cause of death (19.2%) in adult beef cattle, followed by unknown non-predator causes (17.3%), respiratory problems (15.9%), calving-related problems (12.8%) and weather-related (11.8%).
For beef operations, specifically, non-predator causes accounted for $556 million in total lost value for calves. Predators accounted for another $112 million in lost value.
Respiratory problems accounted for 23% of calf death loss due to non-predator causes, followed by calving-related problems (22.7%), and weather-related causes (18.3%).