After follow-through support early in the session, continued erosion in Lean Hog futures, along with light trade and declining open interest, helped pressure Cattle futures Thursday, especially Feeder Cattle. Cattle futures did close well off of session lows.
Except for 2¢ higher in away Aug, Live Cattle futures closed an average of 16¢ lower.
Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of 56¢ lower across the front half of the board and then and average of 17¢ lower.
Boxed beef cutout values were steady to weak on light to moderate demand and offerings, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 5¢ higher Thursday afternoon at $203.80/cwt. Select was 48¢ lower at $197.10.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed Thursday, amid lingering trade worries on one hand, and continued positive quarterly earnings on the other.
The Dow Jones Industrial average closed 7 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 13 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 95 points.
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Pastureland values increased 3% year over year—up $40 per acre—for an average of $1,390 per acre, according to the 2018 Land Values Summary released by the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) yesterday. Increases were steepest in the Southern Plains region—up 5.6%.
At $4,130 per acre, cropland value also increased an averaged of $40 per acre from the previous year. It was up 4.7% in the Southern Plains region.
U.S. farm real estate value, a measurement of the value of all land and buildings on farms, averaged $3,140 per acre for 2018, up $60 per acre (1.9%) from 2017 values.
“Regional changes in the average value of farm real estate ranged from an 8.3% increase in the Southern Plains region to a 1.4% decrease in the Northern Plains region,” say NASS analysts. “The highest farm real estate values were in the Corn Belt region at $6,430 per acre. The Mountain region had the lowest farm real estate value at $1,140 per acre.”