Cattle futures rallied Tuesday, supported by strong wholesale beef values, which were propped up further by lost production at Cargill’s plant in Dodge City for a few days this week, due to a partial roof collapse, owing to heavy rain last weekend. Before settlement, Live Cattle futures were an average of $1.54 higher. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $3.06 higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from mostly inactive on very light demand to a standstill through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $190/cwt. in the Southern Plains and mostly $198 in Nebraska and the western Corn Belt. Dressed delivered prices were mostly $312, but stretched as high as $317.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $1.21 higher Tuesday afternoon at $330.39/cwt. Select was 7¢ higher at $306.48/cwt.
Front-month Corn and Soybean futures gained Tuesday, likely with additional short covering. Toward the close and through Jly ’25 contracts, Corn futures were mostly fractionally higher. Soybean futures were mostly fractionally higher to 5¢ higher. Kansas City Wheat futures were 3¢ to 10¢ lower with likely harvest pressure.
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Major U.S. financial indices gained again on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 162 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 33 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 149 points.
Heading into the close, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were narrowly mixed through the front six contracts.
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Agricultural producer sentiment drifted lower in June, according to the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer, which declined 3 points month to month to 105. A 5-point decline in the Index of Future Expectations to 112 drove the weaker outlook as the Current Conditions Index increased 1 point to 90.
High input costs, the risk of lower commodity prices and rising interest rates continue to weigh on sentiment.
“The impact of rising interest rates on their farm operations has become a bigger concern for producers in recent months,” says James Mintert, the barometer’s principal investigator and director of Purdue University’s Center for Commercial Agriculture. “Interest rate risk and high breakeven levels combined with concerns that crop and livestock prices could weaken are holding back producer sentiment and making producers cautious about making large investments.”
More producers indicated that it is not a favorable time for large investments compared to May, while the percentage of producers who viewed it as a good time remained the same. The Farm Capital Investment Index declined 3 points to a reading of 32, just 1 point above its historical low.
The latest Ag Economy Barometer survey was conducted from June 17-21.