Only a single lot (274 heifers in Texas) sold in the weekly Fed Cattle Exchange Auction. The weighted average price was $120/cwt. for delivery at 1-9 days. There were 1,515 head on offer.
Slaughter steers and heifers sold mostly $5-$6 higher at Sioux Falls Regional Livestock in South Dakota on Wednesday. Choice steers brought $116.00-$119.75/cwt.; $116.50-$118.25 for heifers.
Although traders backed away from stronger follow-through support early in the session, Cattle futures closed solidly higher again on Wednesday.
Live Cattle futures closed an average of 70¢ higher (32¢ to $1.17 higher).
After 27¢ higher in spot Nov, and besides 57¢ and 50¢ higher in the back two contracts, Feeder Cattle futures closed an average of $1.08 higher.
Choice boxed beef cutout value was 95¢ higher Wednesday afternoon at $207.39/cwt.; that’s $7 higher week to week. Select was 19¢ lower at $193.71.
******************************
Major U.S. financial indices closed mainly narrowly mixed on Wednesday. Support came from recently higher energy prices and variety of positive economic news, including: a sharp rebound in monthly jobs (ADP); positive manufacturing data (ISM); strong quarterly earnings; and the Fed standing pat on interest rates.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed 57 points higher. The S&P 500 closed 4 points higher. The NASDAQ closed 11 points lower.
******************************
“With fluctuating beef cow inventories over the past decade, the U.S. dairy herd has offered a stable source of both feeder cattle and cull cows to fill beef demand,” say Brenda Boetel, Extension economist at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and research assistant, Jared Geiser.
In the most recent issue of In the Cattle Markets, Boetel and Geiser explain, “In 2016 the dairy sector contributed 5.7 billion lbs. of beef through cull cows and finished dairy steers and heifers to the U.S. beef supply chain.”
Moreover, they point out the contribution of dairy beef to total U.S. beef production, while variable, continues to grow over time. Dairy beef accounted for 17.9% of total beef production in 2002; 22.7% in 2016. During that same period, Holstein steers accounted for 32% to 60% of all of the Prime-grading beef each year.
“Continued contributions from dairy steers can be expected with the dairy cowherd surpassing 2015 levels and reaching a new high since 2002,” say Boetel and Geiser.