Cattle futures edged lower Tuesday, apparently pressured more by technical selling and rally fatigue than anything else.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 33¢ lower.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 49¢ lower.
Wholesale beef values were steady on light to moderate demand and offerings, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 17¢ lower Tuesday afternoon at $204.65/cwt. Select was 8¢ lower at $197.95.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mostly higher Tuesday, with quarterly earnings beating estimates across a variety of sectors, from Alphabet-Google, to John Deere, to Eli Lilly.
The Dow Jones Industrial average closed 197 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 13 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 1 point.
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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue announced yesterday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will take several actions to assist farmers in response to trade damage from unjustified tariff retaliation.
Specifically, USDA will authorize up to $12 billion in programs, which is in line with the estimated $11 billion impact of the unjustified retaliatory tariffs on U.S. agricultural goods.
“This is a short-term solution to allow President Trump time to work on long-term trade deals to benefit agriculture and the entire U.S. economy,” Secretary Perdue said. “The President promised to have the back of every American farmer and rancher, and he knows the importance of keeping our rural economy strong. Unfortunately, America’s hard-working agricultural producers have been treated unfairly by China’s illegal trading practices and have taken a disproportionate hit when it comes to illegal retaliatory tariffs. USDA will not stand by while our hard-working agricultural producers bear the brunt of unfriendly tariffs enacted by foreign nations. The programs we are announcing today help ensure our nation’s agriculture continues to feed the world and innovate to meet the demand.”
USDA will use the following programs to assist farmers:
The Market Facilitation Program, authorized under The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) Charter Act and administered by Farm Service Agency, will provide payments incrementally to producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy, and hogs. This support is aimed at helping farmers manage disrupted markets, deal with surplus commodities, and expand and develop new markets at home and abroad.
USDA will use the CCC Charter Act and other authorities to implement a Food Purchase and Distribution Program through the Agricultural Marketing Service to purchase unexpected surplus of affected commodities such as fruits, nuts, rice, legumes, beef, pork and milk for distribution to food banks and other nutrition programs.
Finally, the CCC will use its Charter Act authority for a Trade Promotion Program administered by the Foreign Agriculture Service in conjunction with the private sector to assist in developing new export markets for our farm products.