Cattle futures found some footing Tuesday, helped along by higher wholesale prices.
Toward the close, Live Cattle futures were an average of 79¢ higher (2¢ to $1.30 higher). Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $4.04 higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was mostly inactive on light to moderate demand in all major cattle feeding regions through Tuesday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $260/cwt. in the Southern Plains and $260-$265 in the North. Dressed delivered prices were $410-$415 in Nebraska and mostly $410 in the western Corn Belt.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $3.61 higher Tuesday afternoon at $395.75/cwt. Select was $3.35 higher at $393.58.
Grain and Soybean futures were narrowly mixed in the front end Tuesday as traders await more details about the announced deal for China to purchase more U.S. agricultural commodities.
Toward the close, and through near Mar contracts, Kansas City HRW Wheat futures were unchanged to fractionally higher. Corn futures were 1¢ lower to fractionally higher. Soybean futures were 2¢ lower to 1¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed lower Tuesday, pressured by rising treasury yield rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 322 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 49 points lower. The NASDAQ was down 220 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures (CME) were 7¢ to 55¢ lower through the front six contracts.
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Pasture and range conditions eroded last week, according to USDA’s Crop Progress report for the week ending May 17. Nationwide, 28% was rated as Good (25%) or Excellent (3%), compared to 31% the previous week and 40% the previous year. On the other end of the scale, 44% was in Poor (24%) or Very Poor condition (20%), which was 3% more than the previous week and 12% more than the same time last year.
States with 40% or more pasture and range ranked as Poor or Very Poor included: Arizona (63%), Colorado (66%), Florida (49%), Georgia (47%), Montana (50%), Nebraska (83%), New Mexico (60%), North Carolina (59%), South Carolina (53%), South Dakota (45%), Utah (42%), Virginia (61%), West Virginia (42%) and Wyoming (65%). Texas and Kansas were on the line at 39%.
Hay stocks on farms May 1 totaled 23.3 million tons, which was 804,000 tons less (-3.3%) year over year, according to the latest USDA Crop Production report.
Winter wheat condition continued to lose ground with 27% ranked in Good (22%) or Excellent (5%) condition, which was 25% less than the same time last year. Conversely, 43% was in Poor (25%) or Very Poor (18%) condition, compared to 40% the previous week and 18% at the same time last year.
Corn planting progress continued to be positive with 76% in the ground, which was the same as last year and 6% more than the five-year average.
Similarly, 67% of the soybean crop was planted, which was 4% more than a year earlier and 14% more than average.