Cattle futures softened Thursday as outside markets turned more bearish and the week’s cash fed cattle trade remained unestablished.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of 46¢ lower. Feeder Cattle futures were an average of 94¢ lower.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade ranged from limited on light demand in Kansas to mostly inactive on very light demand elsewhere through Thursday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $197 in the Southern Plains and $198 in the North. Dressed delivered prices were $313.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 42¢ lower Thursday afternoon at $313.12/cwt. Select was 98¢ higher at $303.51.
Grain and Soybean futures rose Thursday, supported by stronger demand and reports of delayed U.S. tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
Toward the close and through Sep ’25 contracts, Corn futures were 4¢ to 9¢ higher. Kansas City Wheat futures unchanged to 7¢ higher. Soybean futures were 12¢ to 17¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices boomeranged lower Thursday with mounting confusion about U.S. tariffs on reports the Trump administration will delay tariffs until April 2 on all Mexican and Canadian imports that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 427 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 104 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 483 points.
Through midafternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were 5¢ lower to 2¢ higher through the front six contracts.
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Amid the confusion surrounding on-again, off-again, U.S. tariffs, the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF) provides a unique perspective.
In 2024, U.S. beef and pork exports of $19.1 billion – an increase of $1 billion over 2023 and down just 2% from the 2022 record – had a significant impact on the corn and soybean industries, according to an independent study conducted by the Juday Group and released by the USMEF. The study quantified the returns that beef and pork exports brought to U.S. corn and soybean producers.
Nationally, U.S. beef and pork exports accounted for $2.24 billion in market value to corn, $525 million to distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS), and $1.12 billion to soybeans in 2024.
“Domestic feed usage is critical to our industries and the continued growth in red meat exports is encouraging. A significant share of the corn and soybeans we grow locally is ultimately exported through pork and beef,” says Dave Bruntz, USMEF vice chair, who raises corn, soybeans and fed cattle in south-central Nebraska. “This study demonstrates how beef and pork exports drive value directly back to producers.”