Cattle futures closed lower Friday with likely profit taking but were higher week to week.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 62¢ lower, from 12¢ lower at the back to $1.00 lower toward the front. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of 82¢ lower.
Week to week on Friday, Live Cattle futures closed an average of $1.15 higher (40¢ to $2.07 higher). Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.23 higher during the same period.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was light on moderate to good demand in Nebraska through Friday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service. Dressed delivered prices were steady to $10 higher at $335-$345/cwt., in a light test. There were a few FOB live trades at $213, but too few to trend; prices in the region the previous week were $212-$215.
Trade was light on moderate demand in Kansas and the western Corn Belt. There were a few live FOB trades in Kansas at $209, but too few to trend. Prices the previous week were $210 in Kansas and $212-$215 in the western Corn Belt, where dressed delivered prices were $335.
In the Texas Panhandle, trade was mostly inactive on light demand. FOB live prices the previous week were $210.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $2.90 lower Friday afternoon at $332.82/cwt. Select was 76¢ lower at $318.68. Week to week on Friday, Choice boxed beef cutout value was $6.91 higher and Select was $9.04 higher with a substantial increase in cattle slaughter.
Estimated total cattle slaughter last week of 609,000 head was 49,000 head more than the previous week and 27,000 head more than the same week last year. Estimated year-to-date total cattle slaughter of 7.3 million head was 423,000 head fewer (-5.5%) than the same period a year ago. Estimated year-to-date beef production of 6.4 billion pounds was 1.1 million pounds less (-1.7%).
Grain and Soybean futures were mixed Friday, as traders positioned head of Monday’s USDA Planting Intensions and Grain Stocks reports.
Corn futures were mostly 1¢ lower, except for nearby. Kansas City Wheat futures were 10¢ to 14¢ lower. Soybean futures were 3¢ to 8¢ higher through May ’26.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed sharply lower Friday, beneath the weight of tariff concerns, declining consumer confidence and sticky inflation.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 715 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 112 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 481 points.
West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were 56¢ to 73¢ lower through the front six contracts.
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USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) recently reinstated the July Cattle report, which was suspended last year due to budget constraints. NASS also reinstated County Estimates for Crops and Livestock.
“The return of the July Cattle Report and County Estimates is a big win for cattle producers who utilize these reports to efficiently run their operations and make important marketing decisions,” says Tanner Beymer, executive director of government affairs for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “These reports are not costly to produce and the amount they are used by the U.S. agriculture sector make them extremely cost-effective.”
Resumption of the July Cattle report is especially timely as the industry gauges when herd expansion begins and how fast.
David Anderson, Extension livestock economist at Texas A&M University notes the 17.8% decrease in February feedlot placements.
“It was the smallest placements for any month since June 2016 and the smallest for a February since 2015,” Anderson explains in a recent issue of In the Cattle Markets. “The exceptionally large placements in 2024 meant that this year’s decline was going to look big. The number of cattle going through the CME feeder cattle index during the month was down 39% compared to last year. Combined with fewer cattle from Mexico impacting Southern feedlots and the placements were lower. But placements were small enough to begin some thinking about whether this might be the beginning of placements indicated herd rebuilding given that they were the fewest since the last herd rebuilding in 2015. It’s probably too early to tell. The data on the number of heifers on feed in the next report might give us some better evidence.”