Cattle futures extended gains Monday, led once again by Feeder Cattle and underpinned by strong cash demand for calves and feeder cattle.
Toward the close, Feeder Cattle futures were an average of $2.41 higher.
Live Cattle futures were an average of $1.18 higher.
Negotiated cash fed cattle trade was at a standstill through Monday afternoon, according to the Agricultural Marketing Service.
Last week, FOB live prices were $185/cwt., in all regions. Dressed delivered prices were $290 in Nebraska and $290-$300 in the western Corn Belt.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was $3.94 higher Monday afternoon at $307.28/cwt. Select was 69¢ lower at $275.45.
Grain and Soybean futures closed higher Friday as traders appeared to apply more risk premium based on Russia’s war with Ukraine.
Toward the close and through Sep ’25 contracts, Corn futures were fractionally higher to 5¢ higher. Kansas City Wheat futures were 12¢ to 14¢ higher. Soybean futures were 8¢ to 11¢ higher.
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Major U.S. financial indices closed mixed Monday with tech stocks earning the strongest support.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 55 points lower. The S&P 500 closed 23 points higher. The NASDAQ was up 111 points.
Through mid-afternoon, West Texas Intermediate Crude Oil futures on the CME were $2.16 to $2.29 higher through the front six contracts.
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Agricultural lenders expect 58% of borrowers to be profitable this year compared to 78% last year, according to the 2024 Ag Lender Survey report produced jointly by the American Bankers Association and the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation, more commonly known as Farmer Mac. The combination of lower export demand for U.S. agricultural goods and the rebound of global inventories has put significant downward pressure on global commodity prices and U.S. farm incomes, according to the report released last week at the ABA Agricultural Bankers Conference in Milwaukee. However, profitability expectations varied by region and major commodity types, with livestock producers garnering more optimism from lenders than crop growers.
Among other report highlights:
*Farmland values continued to rise in 2024, albeit at a slower pace than in previous years. However, regional differences abound, and headwinds have grown in many areas. As a result, most lenders expect land values and cash rents may plateau or decline over the next year.
*Unsurprisingly, liquidity and farm income remained atop the list of lender concerns for producers. Meanwhile, lenders expressed less concern this year about inflation, weather and many other factors affecting producers.
*Concern levels spiked in 2024 for several sectors, including grains, fruits and tree nuts. On the other hand, concern levels dropped for dairy, beef and poultry. The changes largely reflect how the farm income outlook has shifted within each sector over the past year.